Konza Prairie LTER V: Long-Term Research on Grassland Dynamics and Global Change

拟议的研究将继续并扩大Konza Prairie草原生态的全面、长期计划。已有20年历史、基础广泛的KNZ LTER项目跨越了多个生态水平和空间和时间尺度。自成立以来，拱顶将火、放牧和气候变化整合为决定塔尔格拉斯草原结构和功能的基本和互动因素。KNZ的生物-生态系统过程和动力学是多种限制资源(主要是水、光和氮)在空间和时间上变化的产物。这三种干扰在异质景观中的相互作用导致了中生草原生态系统的高度物种多样性和复杂的非线性行为特征。KNZ的结果不仅与了解世界各地的草原有关，而且与包括人类造成的全球变化在内的更广泛的生态问题有关。LTER V的具体目标是扩大20多年前开始的关于火、放牧和气候变异性的强大核心Konza LTER实验，开展基于现场和站点间的研究和综合活动；2)进一步发展对草原动态的机械性和预测性理解，特别强调草原生态系统对多种全球变化因素的反应；3)利用KNZ结果发展和检验一般生态学理论(如多样性-稳定性关系、群落入侵性、自上而下与自下而上的控制、土壤-植物群落反馈模型、河流连续体模型)。将从社会学和生态学的角度对该地区土地覆盖变化的原因和后果进行新的研究。侧重于应对不断变化的火灾、放牧和气候制度的关键过程和机制的短期实验将继续是必不可少的组成部分。这项研究的更广泛影响包括培训下一代生态学家，促进公共教育，以及开发对全世界草原生态系统的生态健全管理至关重要的知识库。

The proposed research would continue and expand a comprehensive, long-term program in grassland ecology at Konza Prairie. The 20-year old, broadly-based KNZ LTER program crosses multiple ecological levels and spatial and temporal scales. Since its inception, the overarching integrates fire, grazing and climatic variability as essential and interactive factors responsible for the structure and function of tallgrass prairie. Organism-to-ecosystem processes and dynamics at KNZ are products of spatial and temporal variability in multiple limiting resources, primarily water, light and N. The interplay of these three disturbances across a heterogeneous landscape leads to the high species diversity and complex, non-linear behavior characteristic of mesic grassland ecosystems. Results from KNZ have relevance not only for understanding grasslands worldwide, but for broader ecological issues including human-caused global change. Specific goals for LTER V are to expand the strong core Konza LTER experiments on fire, grazing and climatic variability begun over 20 years ago, with site-based and inter-site studies and synthesis activities; 2) to further develop mechanistic and predictive understanding of grassland dynamics with particular emphasis on responses of grassland ecosystems to multiple global change factors; and 3) to use KNZ results to develop and test general ecological theory (e.g., diversity-stability relationships, community invasibility, top-down vs. bottom-up controls, soil-plant community feedback models, river continuum model).New studies of the causes and consequences of land-cover change in the region will be initiated, incorporating both sociological and ecological perspectives. Short-term experiments focused on key processes and mechanisms underlying responses to changing fire, grazing and climatic regimes will continue to be essential components. Broader impacts of the research include training a future generation of ecologists, contributing to public education, and development of a knowledge base essential for the ecologically sound management of grassland ecosystems worldwide.