LTREB Renewal: Evaluating the Role of Metacommunity Dynamics in the Assembly of Vernal Pool Communities

LTREB 更新：评估元社区动态在春池社区大会中的作用

• 批准号: 1257385
• 负责人: Sharon Collinge
• 金额: $ 45万
• 依托单位: University of Colorado at Boulder
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-03-01 至 2019-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1257385&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: LTREB; Renewal; Evaluating; Role; Metacommunity

This project leverages a long-term, highly replicated field experiment in native plant restoration to study how sustainable communities of species assemble and why they disassemble. Vernal pools, which are temporary wetlands that are inundated in spring and dry in summer, represent discrete, high diversity habitat patches for plants that are able to tolerate extreme physical conditions. The project examines naturally occurring and restored pools that vary in size, connectivity, and seeding treatment in order to identify the relative importance of local and regional factors affecting local species composition. Over the next five years, data collected on the abundance of all observed species, pollinator dynamics, seed set, germination rates, and pool hydrology will be integrated into mathematical models to determine factors that significantly influence plant species composition, community dynamics, and long-term stability.To restore and manage natural communities effectively, ecologists must understand processes affecting their formation and dynamics. When restored ecosystems reach alternative states that do not match conservation priorities, active management is necessary to modify factors controlling the structure and composition of these communities. This field study will generate data critical to inform conservation and restoration efforts. These results will also mitigate endangered species losses on Department of Defense lands. Rural school students will participate in the project by designing and implementing their own research. Graduate and undergraduate students will also receive direct research experience through participation in the proposed field studies.

这个项目利用了一个长期的、高度重复的本地植物恢复的实地实验来研究物种的可持续群落是如何聚集的，以及它们为什么会解体。春水池是一种临时湿地，在春天被淹没，在夏天干涸，代表了能够忍受极端物理条件的植物的离散的、高度多样化的栖息地。该项目考察了大小、连通性和播种处理不同的自然形成和修复的池塘，以确定影响当地物种组成的本地和区域因素的相对重要性。在未来五年内，收集到的所有观测物种的丰度、传粉者动态、种子结实率、发芽率和池水文数据将被整合到数学模型中，以确定显著影响植物物种组成、群落动态和长期稳定性的因素。为了有效地恢复和管理自然群落，生态学家必须了解影响其形成和动态的过程。当恢复的生态系统达到与保护优先级不匹配的替代状态时，需要主动管理以改变控制这些群落结构和组成的因素。这项实地研究将产生对保护和恢复工作至关重要的数据。这些结果还将减轻国防部土地上濒危物种的损失。农村学校的学生将通过设计和实施他们自己的研究来参与这个项目。研究生和本科生也将通过参与拟议的实地研究获得直接的研究经验。