Grassland Community Coalescence and Diversity Across Gradients of Nitrogen Eutrophication: the Interplay of Species Pools, Niche Determinism and Neutral Processes

了解调节群落组成和多样性的因素是生态学的一个关键目标，但也是预测和调解环境变化对生态系统的影响所必需的。通过长期田间试验，研究了种子有效性、当地生态相互作用和机会因子在控制草地群落沿着施氮梯度动态中的作用。将种植实验社区，以建立物种多样性、组成和丰度方面的各种初始条件。一旦建立，这些社区将暴露于不同水平的氮肥，以评估在何种程度上物种的命运和社区的变化是可预测的功能特征和物种的初始种群规模的基础上。该项目将有助于了解氮供应沿着梯度的群落形成，而且还将提供适用于草地管理和恢复的信息。该项目将促进堪萨斯大学和哈斯克尔印第安民族大学女研究生和女本科生的教育和培训。少数民族学生将出席生态学会和促进奇卡诺人和美洲原住民社会的会议。该项目将被纳入由KU现场站运行的现有公共宣传计划。

Understanding factors that regulate the composition and diversity of communities is a key aim in ecology, but is also necessary to anticipate and mediate impacts of environmental change on ecosystems. A long-term field experiment will be established to investigate the role of seed availability, local ecological interactions and chance factors in governing the dynamics of grassland communities along gradients of nitrogen fertilization. Experimental communities will be planted to establish a variety of initial conditions with respect to species diversity, composition and abundance. Once established, these communities will be exposed to varying levels of nitrogen fertilization to evaluate the extent to which fates of species and changes in the community are predictable based upon functional traits and initial population sizes of species. The project will contribute to understanding of community formation along gradients of nitrogen availability, but also yield information applicable to grassland management and restoration. This project will contribute to education and training of female graduate students and undergraduates from University of Kansas (KU) and Haskell Indian Nations University. Minority students will present at meetings of the Ecological Society and the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans. The project will be integrated into an existing public outreach program run by the KU Field Station.