DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Predicting Restoration Outcomes In Exotic-Invaded Ecosystems

论文研究：预测外来入侵生态系统的恢复结果

• 批准号: 0910361
• 负责人: Evan Siemann
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: William Marsh Rice 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: 2009-07-01 至 2012-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0910361&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Predicting; Restoration; Outcomes

Restoring habitats that have been invaded by exotic, non-native plant species is often challenging. Efforts to promote success of desired species must be balanced with efforts to control detrimental exotic species. Furthermore, likelihood of success and cost of successful restoration can vary dramatically among equivalently invaded habitats and thus are difficult to predict. In this project, wetlands and grasslands in Texas invaded by exotic Chinese tallow trees will be used as a model system to better understand mechanisms driving restoration outcomes. The necessary and appropriate management methods (and thus cost) depend on how intensely tallow trees return following their removal. This is hypothesized to depend on soil moisture and the local availability of tallow and native plant seeds. At 12 tallow-invaded habitats located across a moisture gradient, moisture, native seed availability, tallow seed availability and management methods will be manipulated. Experimental results and data on initial habitat characteristics from each site will be used to develop a model that predicts restoration outcomes based on site characteristics. In addition to advancing understanding of how environmental factors influence invasions and plant community development, this work will have broader impacts for conservation and restoration. The ability to predict restoration outcomes could allow land managers to prioritize efforts where chances of success are high and costs are low. This would increase the extent of successful restoration and tallow control on a landscape scale, benefiting wildlife as well as land managers and landowners struggling with tallow.

恢复被外来非本土植物物种入侵的栖息地往往是具有挑战性的。促进所需物种成功的努力必须与控制有害外来物种的努力相平衡。此外，在同等入侵的生境中，成功恢复的可能性和成本可能会有很大差异，因此很难预测。在这个项目中，被外来的中国乌油树入侵的德克萨斯州的湿地和草原将被用作一个模型系统，以更好地了解推动恢复结果的机制。必要和适当的管理方法(以及成本)取决于它们被移除后恢复的强烈程度。据推测，这取决于土壤湿度以及当地牛脂和本地植物种子的可用性。在位于水分梯度上的12个牛脂入侵的栖息地，水分、本地种子可用性、牛脂种子可用性和管理方法将受到控制。实验结果和每个地点的初始栖息地特征数据将被用来开发一个模型，根据地点特征预测恢复结果。除了增进对环境因素如何影响入侵和植物群落发展的理解外，这项工作还将对保护和恢复产生更广泛的影响。预测恢复结果的能力可以让土地管理者在成功机会高、成本低的情况下优先开展工作。这将增加在景观范围内成功恢复和控制牛脂的程度，使野生动物以及与牛脂作斗争的土地管理者和土地所有者受益。