EAGER: Spatial patterns of nutrient limitation and carbon storage in South African coastal lowland landscapes

EAGER：南非沿海低地景观养分限制和碳储存的空间模式

• 批准号: 1045935
• 负责人: Erica Smithwick
• 金额: $ 15.07万
• 依托单位: Pennsylvania State Univ University Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-01 至 2013-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1045935&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Spatial; patterns; nutrient; limitation

Geographically, Africa is one of the weakest links in understanding land-atmosphere carbon exchange. The objectives of this research are to (1) employ a novel experimental design to determine how variation in nutrient availability determines spatial patterns in grassland carbon productivity and (2) provide the first-ever quantification of carbon storage in coastal and dune forests within two priority nature reserves in the southeastern coast of South Africa. Contrasting fire and vegetation patterns within each reserve will allow for the development of new pyrogeographic perspectives on African carbon storage at landscape scales. By studying carbon storage in priority conservation areas in coastal South Africa, this research will establish a deeper understanding of the role of African landscapes in conservation management and global ecosystem science. A current lack of understanding of complex interactions among fire, climate, and nutrient cycling hinders broad-scale modeling of ecosystem response to climate change. This issue is particularly acute for Africa, which represents the largest source of fire-derived carbon emissions and for which carbon storage estimates are scarce. Direct measurement of carbon storage in new locations and identification of its limiting factors across multiple scales, as explored in this project, are critical for the development of future diagnostic modeling efforts. Understanding how fire and soil nutrients govern these patterns will contribute to landscape and conservation management in the region and globally. This research will also contribute to the training of graduate students in collaborative international science which is a key national educational priority.

从地理上讲，非洲是了解陆地-大气碳交换方面最薄弱的环节之一。 本研究的目的是（1）采用一种新的实验设计，以确定如何在营养物质的可用性的变化决定草地碳生产力的空间格局和（2）提供有史以来第一次量化的碳储量在沿海和沙丘森林在两个优先自然保护区在南非东南海岸。 对比每个保护区内的火灾和植被模式，将允许在景观尺度上对非洲碳储存发展新的高温地理学观点。 通过研究南非沿海优先保护区的碳储存，这项研究将加深对非洲景观在保护管理和全球生态系统科学中的作用的理解。 目前对火、气候和养分循环之间复杂的相互作用缺乏了解，阻碍了生态系统对气候变化响应的大规模建模。 这一问题对非洲来说尤其严重，因为非洲是火灾产生的碳排放的最大来源，而非洲的碳储存估计数很少。在新的地点直接测量碳储量，并在多个尺度上识别其限制因素，如本项目所探讨的，对于未来诊断建模工作的发展至关重要。了解火和土壤养分如何控制这些模式将有助于该地区和全球的景观和保护管理。 这项研究还将有助于培养国际合作科学方面的研究生，这是国家教育的一个重要优先事项。