Collaborative Research: Ecological Homogenization of Urban America

城市，郊区和远郊环境是重要的生态系统，其范围正在增加，在美国野生或管理的生态系统的城市生态系统的转换导致生态系统同质化的城市，在非常不同的地区的国家的社区有类似的模式的道路，住宅地段，商业区和水生特征。 提供资金来测试的假设，这种同质化改变生态系统的碳和氮动态相关的生态结构和功能，与大陆尺度的影响。 该研究将为理解从地方到大陆规模的城市土地利用变化的影响提供一个框架。 该研究涵盖了涵盖美国主要气候区域的六个大都市统计区（MSA）的家庭调查和区域尺度遥感数据集（亚利桑那州凤凰城、佛罗里达州迈阿密、马里兰州巴尔的摩、马萨诸塞州波士顿、明尼苏达州圣保罗和加利福尼亚州洛杉矶）确定家庭特征如何与当地的景观美化决策、土地管理实践和生态结构和功能相关，区域和大陆规模。 这项研究将改变对一种重要且日益普遍的生态系统类型的科学认识（？哥伦比亚？）以及在多个尺度上对碳储存和氮污染的影响。此外，它还将促进对人类如何感知、重视和管理周围环境的理解。该奖项将利用与正在进行的LTER和/或ULTRA-EX项目相关的广泛、多规模的教育和外展计划。活动包括K-12教育和与社区团体、城市/区域规划者、自然历史博物馆、州和地方机构以及非政府组织的外联活动。研究生将参加由NCEAS和明尼苏达大学环境研究所发起的可持续发展科学分布式研究生研讨会（DGSS）。

Urban, suburban and exurban environments are important ecosystems and their extent is increasing in the U.S. The conversion of wild or managed ecosystems to urban ecosystems is resulting in ecosystem homogenization across cities, where neighborhoods in very different parts of the country have similar patterns of roads, residential lots, commercial areas and aquatic features. Funds are provided to test the hypothesis that this homogenization alters ecological structure and functions relevant to ecosystem carbon and nitrogen dynamics, with continental scale implications. The research will provide a framework for understanding the impacts of urban land use change from local to continental scales. The research encompasses datasets ranging from household surveys to regional-scale remote sensing across six metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) that cover the major climatic regions of the US (Phoenix, AZ, Miami, FL, Baltimore, MD, Boston, MA, St. Paul, MN and Los Angeles, CA) to determine how household characteristics correlate with landscaping decisions, land management practices and ecological structure and functions at local, regional and continental scales. This research will transform scientific understanding of an important and increasingly common ecosystem type (?suburbia?) and the consequences to carbon storage and nitrogen pollution at multiple scales. In addition, it will advance understanding of how humans perceive, value and manage their surroundings. The award will leverage an extensive, multi-scale program of education and outreach associated with ongoing LTER and/or ULTRA-EX projects. Activities include K-12 education and outreach to community groups, city/regional planners, natural history museums, state and local agencies and non-governmental organizations. Graduate students will participate in a Distributed Graduate Seminar in Sustainability Science (DGSS) initiated by NCEAS and the University of Minnesota Institute on Environment.