Collaborative Research: Mountain Meadow Restoration with a Changing Climate

洛海德，Steven P.，PI威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校CBET-0729838 Lundquist，Jessica D.，PI华盛顿大学CBET-0729830合作研究：气候变化下的山地草甸恢复项目主任Cindy M.Lee，(703)292-5356气候变化将影响恢复工程实践，尤其是在依赖积雪和地下水在整个生长季提供水分的生态系统，如美国科迪勒拉沿岸的山地草甸生态系统，那里越来越多的降水以降雨而不是降雪的形式下降，确实积累的雪融化得更早，夏季更长、更干燥。这个合作项目的目标是调查影响草甸生态系统的各种过程和时空尺度。以加利福尼亚州约塞米蒂国家公园仪器齐全的Tuolumne草甸为例，项目团队将1)缩小研究区域未来气候模式情景的比例，2)使用温度和降水的预期统计变化将历史气象记录调整为预期的未来气象记录，3)在盆地上运行分布式融雪和径流模型，以确定不同地区如何响应气候变化，以及哪些地区最敏感和最不敏感，4)将模拟径流与穿过草甸的水力路线模型相结合，以估计在进行和不进行各种恢复工作的情况下，气候变化将如何影响河流水位。5)模拟整个草甸的地下水位将如何对溪流水位的变化作出反应，以及6)模拟植被群落如何最有可能对预计的地下水位变化作出反应。有必要在明确考虑气候变化的情况下，为可持续恢复工程发展科学基础。新的建模技术和联系将作为可转移方法的框架，可用于研究气候、水文和植被动态在其他区域和生态系统中的相互关联的影响。该项目的教育效益包括为研究生和本科生提供支持，以及为讲解护林员和约塞米蒂国家公园的游客提供支持，约塞米蒂国家公园每年吸引约400万游客。结果还将在网上公布，供普通公众和资源管理人员使用。

Loheide, Steven P., PIUniversity of Wisconsin-MadisonCBET-0729838Lundquist, Jessica D., PIUniversity of WashingtonCBET-0729830Collaborative Research: Mountain Meadow Restoration with a Changing ClimateCindy M. Lee, Program Director, (703) 292-5356 Climate change will affect restoration engineering practices especially in ecosystems that depend on snowmelt and groundwater to provide moisture through the growing season, such as mountain meadow ecosystems along the American Cordillera, where an increasing percentage of precipitation is falling as rain rather than snow, snow that does accumulate is melting earlier, and summers are longer and drier. The goal of this collaborative project is to investigate the range of processes and spatial and temporal scales affecting a meadow ecosystem. Using the well-instrumented Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park, CA, as a case study, the project team will 1) downscale future climate model scenarios to the study area, 2) use the expected statistical shifts in temperature and precipitation to adjust the historic meteorological record to one that is expected in the future, 3) run a distributed snowmelt and runoff model over the basin to determine how different areas respond to climatic shifts and which areas are most and least sensitive, 4) combine simulated runoff with a hydraulic routing model through the meadow to estimate how stream water levels will be affected by climate change with and without various restoration efforts, 5) model how groundwater levels throughout the meadow will respond to shifts in stream level, and 6) model how vegetation communities are most likely to shift in response to projected water table changes. There is a need to develop the scientific basis for sustainable restoration engineering with explicit consideration of climate change. The new modeling techniques and linkages will serve as a framework for a transferable methodology that can be used to investigate the interrelated effects of climate, hydrology, and vegetation dynamics in other regions and ecosystems. Educational benefits of this project include support for graduate and undergraduate students as well as programs for interpretative rangers and visitors to Yosemite National Park, which attracts about 4 million visitors each year. Results will also be posted online for the general public and resource managers.