BE/CNH: Biocomplexity, Spatial Scale and Fragmentation: Implications for Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems

BE/CNH：生物复杂性、空间规模和破碎化：对干旱和半干旱生态系统的影响

• 批准号: 0119618
• 负责人: N. Thompson Hobbs
• 金额: $ 190万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-10-01 至 2007-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0119618&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CNH; Biocomplexity; Spatial; Scale; Fragmentation

This proposal argues that spatial complexity of vegetation plays a central role in the structure and function of temporally variable, arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Complexity results from movement-mediated linking of less complex spatial units by herbivores and humans into spatially extensive, complex systems. But modern human land use and land tenure systems tend to deplete spatial biocomplexity through fragmentation of ecosystems into isolated and simplified units. Ecosystem fragmentation is often justified as a means of economic intensification in the neo-classical framework, but in fact, it costs money to replace the natural capital lost through fragmentation. As a result of fragmentation, many of the world's arid and semi-arid grazed ecosystems are dysfunctional to varying degrees. The goal of this project is to demonstrate the importance of spatial complexity, the costs of fragmentation, and to identify options for sustainability at sites around the world by linking ecological and socio-economic research, and in the process, create an international network of scientists addressing these issues. The project focuses on 21 sites in nine countries on four continents. The interdisciplinary scientific team includes ecologists, anthropologists, economists, and political scientists. The project will include case study syntheses, field-based investigations, and model experiments and analyses. The project is expected to promote a higher level of understanding of spatial-temporal distribution of complexity, its importance in grazed systems, why and how complexity is reduced through fragmentation, and what this means for ecosystems and economic activities.

本文认为，植被的空间复杂性在时变干旱和半干旱生态系统的结构和功能中起着核心作用。复杂性是由食草动物和人类通过运动介导将不太复杂的空间单元连接成空间广泛的复杂系统而产生的。但是，现代人类土地利用和土地保有制度倾向于通过将生态系统分裂成孤立和简化的单元来消耗空间生物复杂性。在新古典主义框架中，生态系统碎片化通常被认为是经济集约化的一种手段，但实际上，要弥补因碎片化而损失的自然资本是需要花钱的。由于碎片化，世界上许多干旱和半干旱放牧生态系统在不同程度上功能失调。该项目的目标是展示空间复杂性的重要性，碎片化的成本，并通过将生态和社会经济研究联系起来，确定世界各地站点的可持续性选择，并在此过程中创建一个国际科学家网络来解决这些问题。该项目集中在四大洲9个国家的21个地点。这个跨学科的科学团队包括生态学家、人类学家、经济学家和政治学家。该项目将包括案例研究综合、实地调查、模型实验和分析。该项目预计将促进对复杂性时空分布的更高层次的理解，其在放牧系统中的重要性，为什么和如何通过碎片化降低复杂性，以及这对生态系统和经济活动意味着什么。