Collaborative Research: Interactive Effects of Climate, Ecosystem Engineering, and Trophic Interactions on Grassland Community Dynamics

预测气候变化对生态系统的影响是复杂的，因为气候可以以许多不同的和相互作用的方式影响同一地方的不同物种和过程。该项目将调查加州荒漠草原年降水量减少的多重影响，在那里，穴居、吃种子的哺乳动物强烈影响土壤养分、土壤水分和植物的种子传播，并且在那里引入的植物物种与本地物种竞争。研究人员将在四年的时间里排除哺乳动物，截取或增加降雨，并测量对哺乳动物、植物和无脊椎动物种群以及营养水平的影响。这是一个难得的机会，可以通过实验测试自然系统中气候的多重复杂影响，这将促进我们对气候变化的生态后果的基本理解。该项目的更广泛的影响包括发展科学劳动力（可能包括代表性不足的群体）、向公众推广以及应用于生物多样性保护和自然区域管理。该项目将培养1名博士后研究员、1名研究生和3名研究技术人员。与两个地方组织的合作将促进公众科学教育和志愿服务。这一发现将为卡里佐平原的管理提供信息。卡里佐平原是加州一种主要草原的最后一个主要遗迹，也是濒危物种的避难所。

Predicting the effects of climate change on ecological systems is complicated by the many separate and interacting ways in which climate can affect the different species and processes in the same place. This project will investigate the multiple effects of a decrease in annual precipitation in desert grassland in California where burrowing, seed-eating mammals strongly affect soil nutrients, soil moisture, and seed dispersal by plants, and where introduced plant species compete with native ones. Researchers will exclude mammals, intercept or add rainfall, and measure effects on populations of mammals, plants, and invertebrates and on nutrient levels over four years. This unusual opportunity to experimentally test multiple, complex effects of climate in a natural system will advance our basic understanding of the ecological consequences of climate change.The broader impacts of this project include development of the workforce for science likely including underrepresented groups, outreach to the public, and applications to the conservation of biodiversity and the management of natural areas. The project will train a postdoctoral researcher, a graduate student, and three research technicians. Work with two local organizations will promote public science education and volunteering. Findings will inform management of the Carrizo Plain, the last major remnant of a major type of grassland in California and a refuge for endangered species.