Mechanisms underlying the growth-survival trade-off among tree species in relation to edaphic specialization

所有有机体在分配资源的方式上都面临着取舍。例如，树木可以以促进快速生长的方式分配资源(例如，含氮量较高的树叶越多)，或者以保护它们免受食草动物侵害的方式(例如，荆棘、防御性化学物质)。该项目解决了这些权衡问题，并询问它们是否有助于在极其多样化的婆罗洲热带雨林的不同土壤类型上实现树种的专业化。资源可获得性的环境梯度对树木多样性的贡献可能不成比例，因为树种往往专门针对特定的生境。相互移植实验，结合落叶处理和田间资源分配的观察，将被用来测试不同土壤类型的树木在生长、储存和防御方面的分配差异。将对植物可利用的矿物质营养和水进行量化，以记录地下资源的变化。除了增进对基本生活史权衡的决定因素的了解外，这项研究还将增进对树种对地下资源的反应以及特定土壤树种分布在森林中产生的机制的理解。这个项目是一个国际合作，有几个值得更广泛的影响。几名当地马来西亚人和Iban(土著居民)将接受数据收集和管理方面的培训。这项研究将提供有关森林更新和树种环境要求的有价值的信息，可直接应用于婆罗洲的森林保护和重新造林工作。公开讲座和编写中学教材将介绍这项工作的更广泛影响，并强调热带雨林的重要功能及其为人类社会提供的生态服务。

All organisms face tradeoffs in they way they allocate resources. Trees, for example, can allocate resources in ways that promote rapid growth (e.g., more leaves with higher nitrogen content) or in ways that protect them from herbivores (e.g., thorns, defensive chemicals). This project addresses those tradeoffs and asks if they contribute to specialization of tree species on different soil types in an extremely diverse Bornean rain forest. Environmental gradients in the availability of resources may contribute disproportionately to tree diversity because tree species often specialize on particular habitats. A reciprocal transplant experiment, combined with a defoliation treatment and observations of resource allocation in the field, will be used to test for differences in allocation to growth, storage, and defense among trees on different soil types. Plant available mineral nutrients and water will be quantified to document the variation in belowground resources. In addition to advancing knowledge of the determinants of fundamental life history trade-offs, this research will improve understanding of tree species' responses to belowground resources and of mechanisms whereby soil-specific tree species distributions arise in forests. This project is an international collaboration with several worthy broader impacts. Several local Malaysians and Iban (an indigenous people) will be trained in data collection and management. This research will provide valuable information on forest regeneration and the environmental requirements of tree species, which can be applied directly in forest conservation and reforestation efforts in Borneo. Public lectures and development of secondary school education materials will communicate the broader implications of this work and emphasizing the vital functions of tropical forests and the ecological services they provide to human society.