FSML: Research Improvements to El Verde Field Station

在美国管辖的唯一一片新热带雨林中，埃尔维德野战站一直是进行研究和培训的重要地点。野外站位于加勒比海国家森林，这是一个实验森林，一个生物圈保护区，波多黎各大学卓越科学技术研究中心的研究地点，以及卢奎罗长期生态研究计划的地点。30多年来，野外空间站一直是来自美国和其他国家50多个机构的科学家的项目重点。目前的研究项目由国家科学基金会、国家航空航天局和美国农业部林业局资助。埃尔维德野战站的研究设施可追溯到1930年代，其目前的规模限制了正在进行的研究活动。空间站的一个弱点是缺乏实验植物生长和溪流设施。这样的设施将允许在受控条件下进行植物和动物实验。以前在圣胡安的低海拔设施对埃尔维德地区的高海拔植物物种进行发芽或种植的尝试表明，植物受到生理压力(即极端温度和湿度导致生长受阻)。同样，由于缺乏实验溪流，研究该地区水生生物的生态和行为所需的细节和控制的数量也受到严重限制。埃维德研究和行政工作的另一个重要限制是缺乏可靠的发电厂来处理经常性的电力故障。该项目将实施《发展波多黎各大学在卢基洛实验森林经营的设施总体计划》所述的五个阶段中的第三个阶段。

The El Verde Field Station has been a vital location for research and training in the only neotropical rain forest under the jurisdiction of the United States. The field station is located in the Caribbean National Forest, which is an Experimental Forest, a Biosphere Reserve, a research site for the University of Puerto Rico Center for Research Excellence in Science and Technology, and the site of the Luquillo LongTerm Ecological Research Program. For more than 30 years, the field station has been the focus of projects by scientists from more than 50 institutions in the United States and other countries. Current research projects are funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the USDA Forest Service. Research facilities at the El Verde Field Station date to the 1930s and their current size restricts ongoing research activities. One weakness of the Station is the lack of experimental plant growth and stream facilities. Such facilities would allow plant and animal experiments under controlled conditions. Previous attempts to germinate or grow high elevation plant species from the EL Verde Area at low elevation facilities in San Juan have shown that plants become physiologically stressed (i.e. stunted growth as a result of extreme temperatures and humidity). Similarly, the amount of detail and control needed to study the ecology and behavior of aquatic organisms of the area is severely limited by the lack of experimental streams. Another important limitation to research as well as administrative work at El Verde is the lack of a reliable power plant to deal with recurrent electrical power failures. This project will enact the third of five phases described in the Master Plan for the Development of Facilities Operated by the University of Puerto Rico in the Luquillo Experimental Forest.