COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Testing a conceptually-driven framework to predict variability in the ecosystem consequences of plant invasion across heterogeneous landscapes

入侵物种对自然服务具有高度可变的影响，例如碳储存和养分保持，这使它们成为土地管理者非常难以解决的问题。该项目研究了美国东部最广泛的入侵植物物种之一——日本高脚草对森林利用碳和氮的影响，并将开发一个更通用的框架来解释入侵物种的影响如何以及为什么在不同的森林中差异如此之大。这项研究将在印第安纳州、北卡罗来纳州和佐治亚州的三个地点进行，以便将土壤和气候的影响分开，并将采用观察测量、实验室和温室的控制实验以及实地实验相结合的方法。这项研究解决了关于单个植物，特别是入侵物种如何影响森林利用和循环碳氮的重要问题。研究人员还将开发一个总体框架，用于更广泛地预测入侵的影响，从而能够预测生物入侵将在何时何地产生最大影响。作为该项目的一部分，科学家们将与印第安纳州和佛罗里达州的高中合作，为教师开展培训项目，其中包括开发新的课程和活动。该项目还将在项目的每个夏季培养几名本科生，将为新的博士和硕士学生提供机会，并将培养一名博士后。该项目的结果将通过网站、公开介绍和出版物向土地管理人员、其他科学家和一般公众提供。stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass stilslgrass是北美东部森林中最常见的入侵植物之一，因此帮助土地管理者更有效地针对其清除和恢复工作，将对未来的保护和森林恢复项目产生持久的好处。

Invasive species have highly variable impacts on natural services, such as carbon storage and nutrient retention, that make them very difficult problems for land managers to address. This project examines the impacts of one of the most widespread invasive plant species in the eastern United States, Japanese stiltgrass, on how forests use carbon and nitrogen, and will develop a more general framework with which to explain how and why impacts of invasives differ so much among different forests. The research will be conducted at three locations in Indiana, North Carolina and Georgia so that soil and climate effects can be separated, and a combination of observational measurements, controlled experiments in labs and greenhouses, and experiments in the field will be used. This research addresses important questions about how individual plants, especially invasive species, affect how forests use and cycle carbon and nitrogen. The investigators will also develop a general framework for predicting the impacts of invasives more broadly that will enable predictions of when and where biological invasions will have the greatest effects. As part of this project, the scientists will work with high schools to conduct training programs for teachers in Indiana and Florida that will include the development of new curricula and activities. The project will also train several undergraduate students each summer of the project, will provide an opportunity for a new PhD and Masters students, and will train a post-doctoral associate as well. The results of the project will be made available to land managers, other scientists, and to the general public through a web site, public presentations, and publications. Stiltgrass is one of the most common invasive plants in the forests of eastern North America, so that helping land managers to more efficiently target its removal and restoration efforts will have lasting benefits for conservation and forest restoration projects in the future.