DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Earthworm invasions as drivers of soil carbon sequestration in north temperate forests

论文研究：蚯蚓入侵是北温带森林土壤固碳的驱动因素

• 批准号: 1110494
• 负责人: Knute Nadelhoffer
• 金额: $ 1.5万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-06-01 至 2013-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1110494&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Earthworm; invasions; drivers

The uptake and storage of carbon in North American temperate forests is an important ecosystem service, locking up a portion of the carbon that would otherwise accumulate in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Forests in the northern hemisphere take up many million tons of carbon annually and store about half of it in soils. Various factors can affect rates of forest carbon storage, including invasive species, which can dramatically change above and below-ground processes. One such invader that has tremendous potential to affect carbon storage in forest soils is the exotic earthworm, whose burrowing and feeding are central to soil function and soil carbon distribution. Human activities of the past century have led to introductions of several earthworm species into North American temperate forests. Although there has been a lot of recent research on earthworm invasions, no single study has examined changes in all pools of soil carbon that may be impacted. Further, no other study has examined how interactions among different earthworm species will affect carbon storage. This project will answer unresolved questions regarding changes in forest carbon storage in response to invasions involving multiple earthworm species. This research will have important implications for assessments of exotic earthworm invasion impacts on forest carbon balances in temperate regions. Further, results will improve our understanding of biological invasions on temperate forests and their impacts on forest environmental, economic, and cultural values. The project also has an important international collaboration component that involves researchers in France, where these worms invaded forests long ago. Outcomes will have implications for science policy. For example, there are no current restrictions on the importation of exotic earthworm species to the U.S., nor is there current legislation designed to limit their further spread.

北美温带森林对碳的吸收和储存是一项重要的生态系统服务，锁定了原本会以二氧化碳的形式积累在大气中的一部分碳，二氧化碳是一种强有力的温室气体。北半球的森林每年吸收数百万吨碳，其中约一半储存在土壤中。各种因素都会影响森林碳储存的速度，包括入侵物种，这可能会极大地改变地上和地下的过程。外来蚯蚓是一种有巨大潜力影响森林土壤碳储存的入侵者，它的挖洞和取食是土壤功能和土壤碳分布的核心。上个世纪的人类活动导致了几种蚯蚓物种被引入北美温带森林。尽管最近有很多关于蚯蚓入侵的研究，但没有一项研究考察了可能受到影响的所有土壤碳库的变化。此外，还没有其他研究考察不同蚯蚓物种之间的相互作用将如何影响碳储存。该项目将回答有关森林碳储量变化的悬而未决的问题，以应对涉及多种蚯蚓物种的入侵。这项研究将对评估外来蚯蚓入侵对温带地区森林碳平衡的影响具有重要意义。此外，研究结果将提高我们对温带森林的生物入侵及其对森林环境、经济和文化价值的影响的理解。该项目还有一个重要的国际合作部分，涉及法国的研究人员，这些蠕虫很久以前就入侵了那里的森林。研究结果将对科学政策产生影响。例如，目前没有对进口外来蚯蚓物种到美国的限制，也没有现行立法旨在限制它们的进一步传播。