The movement of elements through ecosystems: Major research instrumentation for the integration of research and education.

元素通过生态系统的运动：研究和教育一体化的主要研究仪器。

• 批准号: 0079566
• 负责人: Kurt Pregitzer
• 金额: $ 62.59万
• 依托单位: Michigan Technological University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2000
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2000-10-01 至 2004-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0079566&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: movement; elements; through; ecosystems; Major

A cadre of ecologists, biologists and chemists at Michigan Technological University are actively investigating terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem processes. These faculty will use several new research instruments to advance their fundamental studies of element transfers through ecosystems, and to integrate their research with the basic science education mission of MTU. Two mass spectrometers will be used to help trace isotopes of C, N and trace metals within and across atmosphere-land-water interfaces, and through natural food-webs. A portable Eddy-Covariance System will allow the researchers to conduct measurements of C, H2O and energy exchange between the atmosphere and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, greatly facilitating the extrapolation of experimental global change work to natural ecosystems.Existing multidisciplinary research projects at MTU have the unifying theme of tracing the flow of elements and energy through atmosphere, land, and water interfaces, with the goal of a more fundamental understanding of the processes that govern element transfers, ecosystem stoichiometry, and biological community composition and diversity. Elucidation of chemical transformation pathways in nature has advanced tremendously in the past decade with the advent of instrumentation capable of rapidly measuring elemental and isotopic composition of tissues, water, soils and sediments. The new instrumentation will enhance ongoing component projects and allow the separate working groups to link together their measurements of element fluxes and studies of processes that influence stoichiometry within ecosystem food webs. The instruments will also be utilized in classroom activities at MTU, giving graduate and undergraduate students an opportunity to use the latest state-of-the-art tools for studying ecosystem processes.To better understand mechanisms that regulate ecosystem processes, one must be able to follow compounds from specific sources through and between atmosphere-land-water interfaces. The new instruments will allow the MTU research team to follow compounds and elements at all stages from their source to their final destination. The researchers will be able to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the transformation and transport of compounds within and across ecosystems. Such knowledge is crucial in order to make the step from describing what has already happened to predicting what will happen in a future, changing environment.

密歇根理工大学的一批生态学家、生物学家和化学家正在积极研究陆地和水生生态系统的过程。 这些教师将使用几种新的研究工具，以推进通过生态系统的元素转移的基础研究，并将他们的研究与MTU的基础科学教育使命相结合。两台质谱仪将用于帮助在大气-陆地-水界面内和跨大气-陆地-水界面以及通过自然食物网追踪碳、氮和痕量金属的同位素。 便携式涡动协方差系统将允许研究人员进行大气与陆地和水生生态系统之间的C，H2O和能量交换的测量，极大地促进了实验性全球变化工作到自然生态系统的外推。MTU现有的多学科研究项目具有追踪元素和能量通过大气，陆地和水界面流动的统一主题，其目标是对控制元素转移、生态系统化学计量和生物群落组成和多样性的过程有更基本的了解。在过去的十年里，随着能够快速测量组织、水、土壤和沉积物的元素和同位素组成的仪器的出现，自然界中化学转化途径的阐明取得了巨大的进展。 新的仪器将加强正在进行的组成项目，并使各个工作组能够将其对元素通量的测量和对影响生态系统食物网化学计量的过程的研究联系起来。这些仪器还将用于MTU的课堂活动，使研究生和本科生有机会使用最新的最先进的工具来研究生态系统过程。为了更好地了解调节生态系统过程的机制，人们必须能够通过大气-陆地-水界面以及在大气-陆地-水界面之间跟踪特定来源的化合物。 新仪器将使MTU研究团队能够跟踪化合物和元素从其来源到最终目的地的所有阶段。 研究人员将能够阐明化合物在生态系统内和生态系统之间的转化和运输所涉及的机制。 这些知识对于从描述已经发生的事情到预测未来变化的环境中会发生什么至关重要。