Dissertation Research: Morphology and plant-soil feedbacks in foggy environments

论文研究：雾环境中的形态学和植物-土壤反馈

• 批准号: 0909984
• 负责人: Lars Hedin
• 金额: $ 1.41万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-05-01 至 2011-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0909984&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Morphology; plant; soil

Plants are often thought to exist passively within their environment, but research suggests that plants can change the availability of soil water and nutrients, which in turn affect plant growth. This study will address the interaction of plants with a widely available but rarely considered source of water and nutrients: fog. Fog is different from rain in that fog droplets must be intercepted from the air if they are to drip to the ground, where roots can take up the moisture. The amount of water collected thus depends on the shape of the vegetation present. By combining computer modeling with experimentation, this researcher will determine how plant shape can influence the amount of water collected, and use this information to simulate the effects of fog-water collection by vegetation in landscapes. In field experiments in Chile and Peru, artificial plant shapes will be established in a natural desert setting to create fog 'oases,' in which nearly all water for plant growth comes from fog. This funding will allow for monitoring of soil moisture below three types of shapes: natural plants; plants with modified shape; and artificial structures. These data will provide tests of theoretical predictions regarding relationships between plant shape and moisture collection. A better understanding of the interactions between vegetation, fog, and water availability will inform biodiversity conservation efforts and watershed management in the face of climate change. This researcher engages in several international collaborations involving teaching at the undergraduate level and outreach to land-use managers.

植物通常被认为是被动地存在于其环境中，但研究表明，植物可以改变土壤水分和养分的可用性，从而影响植物的生长。这项研究将解决植物与一个广泛可用但很少考虑的水和营养来源的相互作用：雾。雾与雨不同，雾的水滴必须从空气中被拦截，才能滴到地面上，地面上的根系可以吸收水分。因此，收集的水量取决于存在的植被的形状。通过将计算机建模与实验相结合，研究人员将确定植物形状如何影响收集的水量，并利用这些信息来模拟景观中植被收集雾水的效果。 在智利和秘鲁的实地实验中，将在自然沙漠环境中建立人造植物形状，以创造雾“绿洲”，其中几乎所有植物生长的水都来自雾。这笔资金将用于监测三种形状以下的土壤湿度：自然植物;形状改变的植物;和人工结构。这些数据将提供关于植物形状和水分收集之间的关系的理论预测的测试。 更好地了解植被，雾和水的可用性之间的相互作用将告知生物多样性保护工作和流域管理在面对气候变化。这位研究人员参与了几项国际合作，涉及本科教学和土地使用管理人员的推广。