Collaborative Research: Effects of Soil Borne Resources on the Structure and Dynamics of Lowland Tropical Forests

合作研究：土壤资源对低地热带森林结构和动态的影响

• 批准号: 0211115
• 负责人: Joseph Yavitt
• 金额: $ 26.6万
• 依托单位: Cornell Univ - State: AWDS MADE PRIOR MAY 2010
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-15 至 2006-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0211115&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Effects; Soil; Borne

Despite current interest in tropical forests as key components of the global carboncycle and as centers of biodiversity,we remain largely ignorant of the inter-relationshipsamong forest attributes (e.g.,dynamics,diversity,structure),and the physical propertiesof the environments in which these forests grow.In recent years datasets have becomeavailable describing growth,mortality and recruitment of approximately 10%of theglobal diversity of tropical tree species.These data result from the development of anetwork of large-scale forest dynamics plots coordinated by the Center for TropicalForest Science (CTFS),and established using methods identical to those used to surveyand census the 50-ha Forest Dynamics Plot on Barro Colorado Island (BCI),Panama.Just as data from the BCI plot have played a prominent role in our understanding of thecommunity-level consequences of ecological processes played out at local scales,we willshow how these plots now provide an unprecedented opportunity to examine a venerablequestion in tropical ecology:How do soil-borne resources influence the variation in foreststructure and demographic turnover rates observed among plots,and among habitat typeswithin plots?To achieve this objective we propose three sets of measurements.At nine plotsites we will characterize variation in soil-moisture availability through the year andthroughout the plots using a hydrological model (TOPMODEL).This model predictssoil-moisture saturation deficit based on rainfall,stream-flow data and local topography.Second,at five plots currently lacking soils data we will sample soil-chemical propertieswithin standardized,topographically-defined habitat types.Third,at the same plots wewill perform seedling growth experiments using mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizalpioneer species to assess plant-availability of soil nutrients for each habitat type.Thesemeasurements will allow us to address questions at two spatial scales.At the among-plotscale we will be able to ask how stem density and basal area,as well as community-widepatterns of growth,mortality and recruitment,correlate with moisture availability and soilfertility.At the within-plot scale we will ask whether species exhibit specialization toparticular hydrological niches,and whether habitat types differ in soil fertility,inturnover rates,and in local species richness.Resolution of these broad questionsconcerning correlations among soil-borne resources and characteristics of the vegetationwill in turn permit us to refine future hypotheses aimed at understanding the mechanisticbasis for interspecific variation in demographics and distribution.This study will provide the first standardized large-scale measurements of theenvironmental context within which tropical forests grow.Our trans-continental approachto testing questions of ecosystem function and community organization has rarely beenattempted,but it will be essential if we are to improve our understanding of thebiogeographic and biophysical limits to our ecological generalizations.Understandinghow variation in water and nutrient availability determines forest structure,compositionand dynamics,and potentially influences local diversity through niche partitioning,willbe essential to predicting future vegetation responses to climate change and will alsoprovide a first step in guiding management to protect forest diversity.Wide disseminationand application of the results of this project is ensured by the active participation of in-country collaborators,and by data sharing through CTFS.

尽管目前对热带森林的兴趣是全球碳循环的关键组成部分，并且作为生物多样性的中心，但我们在很大程度上仍然不了解森林中的相互关系（例如，动态，多样性，结构），以及这些森林的生长环境的物理特性，这些森林的增长是多样性的。 tropical tree species.These data result from the development of anetwork of large-scale forest dynamics plots coordinated by the Center for TropicalForest Science (CTFS),and established using methods identical to those used to surveyand census the 50-ha Forest Dynamics Plot on Barro Colorado Island (BCI),Panama.Just as data from the BCI plot have played a prominent role in our understanding of thecommunity-level consequences在本地尺度上进行的生态过程，我们将展示这些地块现在如何提供前所未有的机会来检查热带生态学中的尊敬的Essemession：土壤传播资源如何影响森林结构和人口统计学周转率的变化，观察到在情节中观察到的森林结构和人口统计学的转换率，以及在该目标中的生存类型中，我们提出了三个目标，我们的态度是衡量的。整个年度的可用性，并使用水文模型（TopModel）进行划分。该模型根据降雨，流流数据和本地地形图预测了Supoil-Moisture饱和度缺陷。菌根和非菌落物种评估每种栖息地类型的植物养分的植物可用性。此次估计将使我们能够在两个空间尺度上解决问题。在plotscale中，我们将能够在茎密度和基础区域以及与社区范围内以及招募的湿度和招募范围内，以及如何供应，以及招募的湿度，以及招募的土壤，并征服了土壤。套件内尺度我们将询问物种是否表现出特殊的水文壁ches，以及栖息地类型在土壤生育能力，倾向率和当地物种丰富度的栖息地类型是否有所不同。这些广泛的问题的分解。这些广泛的问题表达了土壤出生资源和植被之间的特征之间的相关性，依此类别允许我们对未来的假设进行改进，以促进探索的范围，以示态，以置换为demithiss的分布。标准化的环境环境中，热带森林生长的环境。我们的跨大陆方法测试生态系统功能和社区组织的问题很少被取消，但是如果我们要改善对植物的理解和对生态的构建的构建，这将是至关重要的。通过利基划分来影响当地的多样性，对于预测未来植被对气候变化的反应至关重要，并将通过在国内合作者的积极参与以及通过CTFS数据共享来确保范围的传播和对该项目结果的应用。