Workshop: Abrupt grass-woodland transitions: Determinants and consequences for ecosystem services - December 15-17, 2012 in Maldonado, Uruguay

研讨会：草地-林地突变：生态系统服务的决定因素和后果 - 2012 年 12 月 15 日至 17 日，乌拉圭马尔多纳多

• 批准号: 1242747
• 负责人: Osvaldo Sala
• 金额: $ 4.98万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-07-01 至 2013-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1242747&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Workshop; Abrupt; grass; woodland; transitions

Our understanding of abrupt transitions in ecological systems has grown dramatically in recent years as a result of the discovery of new mathematical tools and characteristics of ecosystems that yield early warning signals. While new statistical tools may help predict tipping points, identifying best actions to avoid or to take in the face of them requires more detailed understanding of the systems themselves. Water limited ecosystems include a variety of grasslands, shrublands, and open and closed-canopy forests with a range of woody vegetation. Many grasslands and savannas worldwide are undergoing rapid shifts in dominance from herbaceous to woody plants driven by social and economic, as well as environmental and ecological factors. The objective of this workshop, cofunded by NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate and Office of International Science and Engineering, is to synthesize current understanding of the transition from grasslands to woodlands, its coupled social and ecological determinants, and the consequences for the provisioning of ecosystem services. The meeting is sponsored by the South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies, an international research institute in Uruguay. Though mainly foucsed on the state of the science, the last day of the workshop will be open to the general public, focusing ing on policy makers, conservation organizations and industry representatives from the private and public sectors in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. Products will include a synthesis paper co-authored by all participants, multiple scientific papers, and the public session. All of the presentations and results from the workshop will all be archived and made freely available on the Institute's web page.Grasslands, shrublands and savannas cover about half of the land on Earth and while characterized by low precipitation, represent about a third of the productivity on land and contain a third of the human population. Dry land systems produce a range of ecosystem services that are expected to change as the systems shift. The one day conference with decision makers has already attracted substantial local and regional interest. And this project will also support a graduate student from Arizona State University as an active participant and workshop organizer.

近年来，由于发现了新的数学工具和产生预警信号的生态系统特征，我们对生态系统突变的理解急剧增长。虽然新的统计工具可能有助于预测临界点，但要确定避免或面对这些临界点的最佳行动，需要对系统本身有更详细的了解。水资源有限的生态系统包括各种草地、灌木丛以及有各种木本植被的开放式和封闭式林冠森林。在社会和经济以及环境和生态因素的驱动下，世界各地的许多草原和稀树草原正在经历从草本植物到木本植物的主导地位的迅速转变。 由NSF生物科学理事会和国际科学与工程办公室共同资助的这次研讨会的目的是综合目前对从草原到林地的过渡、其耦合的社会和生态决定因素以及提供生态系统服务的后果的理解。该会议由乌拉圭的一个国际研究机构南美复原力和可持续性研究所赞助。虽然主要集中在科学的状态，研讨会的最后一天将向公众开放，重点是政策制定者，保护组织和来自乌拉圭，阿根廷和巴西的私营和公共部门的行业代表。产品将包括由所有参与者共同撰写的综合论文，多篇科学论文和公开会议。讲习班的所有专题介绍和成果都将存档，并在研究所的网页上免费提供。草地、灌木丛和稀树草原覆盖了地球上大约一半的土地，虽然其特点是降水量少，但约占陆地生产力的三分之一，并容纳了三分之一的人口。旱地系统产生一系列生态系统服务，这些服务预计将随着系统的变化而变化。与决策者举行的为期一天的会议已经引起了当地和区域的极大兴趣。而且这个项目还将支持一位来自亚利桑那州立大学的研究生作为积极的参与者和研讨会的组织者。