Konza Prairie LTER VI: Grassland Dynamics and Long-Term Trajectories of Change

自1980年成立以来，长期的研究和实验在康扎草原，堪萨斯，一直联系在一起的一个总体主题，整合火灾，放牧和气候变化的基本和相互作用的因素负责的起源，进化，持久性和功能的高草草原。由于人类活动直接通过管理食草动物和火灾，间接通过改变大气化学和气候，改变全球草原生态过程的关键驱动因素，因此Konza研究越来越多地用于解决关键的全球变化问题。在该提案中，将扩大核心Konza实验和数据集，同时启动新的实验、数据集和跨站点研究。将扩大对木本植物侵入草地的研究。多地点研究是Konza计划的一个非常重要的方面，包括在撒哈拉以南非洲的合作工作，以测试Konza开发的草地功能模型。Konza计划利用大量资金用于教育和推广，取得了令人印象深刻的成果。大量的研究生通过Konza研究获得了学位。Konza校园K-12计划通过每年管理的125个教育项目为数千名学生提供服务。少数民族在校园和本科研究项目的参与是恒星。恢复退化草地生态系统的新重点对保护和维持生物多样性具有重要意义。

Since its inception in 1980, long-term studies and experiments at Konza Prairie, Kansas, have been linked by an overarching theme that integrates fire, grazing and climate variability as essential and interactive factors responsible for the origin, evolution, persistence and functioning of tallgrass prairie. Because human activities are directly, by managing grazers and fire, and indirectly, by changing atmospheric chemistry and climate, altering the key drivers of ecological processes in grasslands worldwide, Konza research is increasingly used to address critical global change issues. In this proposal, core Konza experiments and datasets will be extended, while new experiments, datasets and cross-site studies are initiated. Studies of woody plant encroachment into grasslands will be expanded. Multi-site studies are a very strong aspect of the Konza program, and include collaborative work in sub-Saharan Africa to test models of grassland function developed at Konza. The Konza program leverages a large amount of funding for education and outreach, with impressive results. A remarkable number of graduate students have obtained their degree through Konza research. The Konza schoolyard K-12 program serves thousands of students through the 125 educational programs administered annually. Minority participation in the schoolyard and undergraduate research programs is stellar. The new focus on restoration of degraded grassland ecosystems has important implications for conservation and maintenance of biodiversity.