LTREB: Population and community ecology of desert winter annuals

该项目将记录26年前在美国亚利桑那州图森附近的沙漠实验室首次监测的永久地块上的沙漠冬季一年生植物的种群和群落动态。 它将提供人口变化及其在人口和社区生态中的作用的理解。 将监测土壤种子储量，以确定发芽的种子比例和持续休眠的种子比例。 实验将确定食草动物在降低沙漠一年生植物种群中的作用，并确定种子在一年中何时死亡。 将建立模型，以确定土壤种子库在缓冲种群中的作用，以及物种差异如何促进共存和物种多样性。 用天气数据校准25年的数据集将能够预测生物对气候变化的反应，沙漠一年生植物作为模式生物在理解生物如何适应多变和不可预测的环境方面发挥了重要作用。 它们也被用来解释非平衡群落动态的概念。 该项目将提供最好的长期数据来测试这些想法。 这项研究将联合收割机研究和教育，让学生参与指导和研究，强调代表性不足的群体。

This project will record the population and community dynamics of desert winter annual plants on permanent plots first monitored 26 years ago at the Desert Laboratory near Tucson, AZ, USA. It will provide understanding of demographic variation and its role in population and community ecology. Soil seed reserves will be monitored to determine the fraction of seeds that germinate and the fraction that persist in dormancy. Experiments will determine the role of granivores in lowering the populations of desert annuals and determine when seeds die during the year. Models will be constructed to determine the role of soil seed banks in buffering populations and how species differences promote coexistence and species diversity. Calibrating the 25 year data set with weather data will permit the prediction of biotic response to climate change.Desert annual plants have played an important role as model organisms in the development of understanding of how organisms adapt to variable and unpredictable environments. They have also been used to exemplify ideas about non-equilibrium community dynamics. This project will provide the best available long-term data to test these ideas. This research will combine research and education by involving students in mentoring and research, emphasizing underrepresented groups.