PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

博士后研究奖学金

• 批准号: 0905699
• 负责人: Alexandra Ponette
• 金额: $ 12万
• 依托单位: Ponette Alexandra G
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2011-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0905699&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PostDoctoral; Research; Fellowship

This National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship will examine land use effects on, and ecological limits to, tropical montane forest recovery in Río Abiseo National Park, Peru. Here, centuries of livestock grazing and burning, introduction of exotic African grasses for improved pasturing, and temperature variation have resulted in a patchwork mosaic of advancing and receding forest-grassland boundaries. However, the mechanisms controlling forest-grass ecotone location across this landscape remain poorly understood. In this study, environmental history data, observations from natural regeneration monitoring, and experimental manipulations will together be used to test the hypothesis that under conditions of fire and grazing exclusion, elevation and grass species interact to control rates and patterns of forest recovery within native alpine and exotic kikuyu-dominated grasslands. By investigating whether or not these bottlenecks can be overcome, this project will reveal the role of co-occurring ecological processes in mediating regional forest dynamics, and hence potential vegetation response to climate variability, on tropical mountains.The Fellow will perform her research at the University of Texas at Austin, under the sponsorship of Dr. Kenneth R. Young in the Department of Geography & the Environment. The University of Texas has a strong research tradition in Latin American geography. It houses the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection and Plant Resources Center, both with significant materials from Peru. The Fellow will also benefit from access to the Environmental Information Systems Laboratory in the host department. Dr. Young has conducted academic and consulting research in Peru since the 1980s. His research focuses on the biogeography, ecology, and conservation of Peru?s humid eastern montane forests in the context of landscape and climatic change. In addition to contributing to theory on grass-tree vegetation shifts, this project will have far-reaching implications for protected areas management, restoration, climate change, and ecosystem services. Peru?s humid montane forests, the world?s leading biodiversity hotspot, are integral to the long-term environmental sustainability of the Andean-Amazon basin. An assessment of the factors driving contemporary resource use within and outside the park will serve to re-evaluate threats to conservation in this region and to generate practical policy recommendations related to land use and economic development. By evaluating the most promising methods and species for forest restoration, this project will supply land managers with practical guidelines for degraded lands rehabilitation. Experimental manipulations will potentially indicate species-specific responses to global warming, as well as the suitability of these forests and key species as indicators of climate change. Lastly, an understanding of the factors controlling tree establishment in grasslands will be important for assessing the sensitivity of ecosystem services, such as water regulation, to distinct land-use legacies.The training objectives are to enhance the Fellow?s expertise in land use and global change, expand the Fellow?s knowledge of experimental methods, and improve her analytical skills. First, postdoctoral training will allow the Fellow to continue studying the influence of anthropogenic disturbance on tropical mountain forests, but in a remote region that has received little attention despite its worldwide conservation importance. Second, field research will allow the Fellow to design and conduct a suite of experiments needed to test historical land use effects on forest dynamics. Third, data acquired from this project will provide the foundation for future research comparing forest recovery across degraded landscapes in Mexico, Peru and similar environments elsewhere. In addition to providing innovative and important research contributions, an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship will improve the Fellow?s qualifications for a tenure track faculty appointment at a major research institution.

这项国家科学基金会少数博士后奖学金将研究秘鲁里奥阿比塞奥国家公园的土地利用对热带山地森林恢复的影响和生态限制。 在这里，几个世纪以来的牲畜放牧和焚烧、为了改善放牧而引进的外来非洲牧草以及温度变化导致了森林与草原边界不断前进和后退的拼凑而成的马赛克。 然而，控制整个景观中森林-草交错带位置的机制仍然知之甚少。 在这项研究中，环境历史数据、自然更新监测的观察结果和实验操作将一起用来检验这样的假设：在火灾和放牧排除的条件下，海拔和草种相互作用，控制本地高山和外来基库尤人主导的草原内森林恢复的速度和模式。 通过调查是否可以克服这些瓶颈，该项目将揭示同时发生的生态过程在调节区域森林动态中的作用，从而揭示热带山区植被对气候变化的潜在反应。该研究员将在德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校地理与环境系肯尼思·R·杨博士的资助下进行研究。 德克萨斯大学在拉丁美洲地理学方面拥有悠久的研究传统。 它是内蒂·李·本森拉丁美洲收藏和植物资源中心的所在地，两者的重要材料都来自秘鲁。 该研究员还将受益于进入所在部门的环境信息系统实验室。 Young 博士自 20 世纪 80 年代以来一直在秘鲁进行学术和咨询研究。 他的研究重点是景观和气候变化背景下秘鲁东部潮湿山地森林的生物地理学、生态学和保护。除了为草树植被变化理论做出贡献外，该项目还将对保护区管理、恢复、气候变化和生态系统服务产生深远影响。 秘鲁潮湿的山地森林是世界领先的生物多样性热点，是安第斯-亚马逊盆地长期环境可持续性不可或缺的一部分。 对公园内外推动当代资源利用的因素进行评估将有助于重新评估该地区的保护威胁，并提出与土地利用和经济发展相关的实用政策建议。 通过评估最有前途的森林恢复方法和物种，该项目将为土地管理者提供退化土地恢复的实用指南。 实验操作将有可能表明特定物种对全球变暖的反应，以及这些森林和关键物种作为气候变化指标的适用性。 最后，了解控制草原树木生长的因素对于评估生态系统服务（例如水调节）对不同土地利用遗产的敏感性非常重要。培训目标是增强研究员在土地利用和全球变化方面的专业知识，扩大研究员对实验方法的了解，并提高她的分析技能。 首先，博士后培训将使研究员能够继续研究人为干扰对热带山地森林的影响，但在一个偏远地区，尽管其在全球范围内的保护重要性，但很少受到关注。 其次，实地研究将使研究员能够设计和进行一系列所需的实验，以测试历史土地利用对森林动态的影响。 第三，从该项目获得的数据将为未来研究比较墨西哥、秘鲁和其他地方类似环境退化景观的森林恢复情况奠定基础。 除了提供创新和重要的研究贡献外，国家科学基金会少数派博士后奖学金还将提高研究员在主要研究机构获得终身教职的资格。

项目成果

Snowlines and Treelines in the Tropical Andes

热带安第斯山脉的雪线和林线

• DOI: 10.1080/24694452.2016.1235479
• 发表时间: 2017
• 期刊: Annals of the American Association of Geographers
• 影响因子: 3.9
• 作者: Young, Kenneth R.;Ponette-González, Alexandra G.;Polk, Molly H.;Lipton, Jennifer K.
• 通讯作者: Lipton, Jennifer K.

A Low-Cost GPS-Based Protocol to Create High-Resolution Digital Elevation Models for Remote Mountain Areas

• DOI: 10.1659/mrd-journal-d-14-00065.1
• 发表时间: 2015-02
• 作者: M. Fry;A. Ponette-González;K. Young

Soil and fine root chemistry at a tropical Andean timberline

热带安第斯林线的土壤和细根化学

• DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2015.10.014
• 发表时间: 2016
• 期刊: CATENA
• 影响因子: 6.2
• 作者: Ponette-González, Alexandra G.;Ewing, Holly A.;Fry, Matthew;Young, Kenneth R.
• 通讯作者: Young, Kenneth R.