EAPSI: Understanding the Interactions Between Precipitation and Pastureland Management Strategies in Contributing to Locust Outbreaks

EAPSI：了解降水和牧场管理策略之间的相互作用导致蝗灾爆发

• 批准号: 1414643
• 负责人: Colin Brown
• 金额: $ 0.51万
• 依托单位: Brown Colin R
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-06-01 至 2015-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1414643&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAPSI; Understanding; Interactions; Between; Precipitation

Locust swarms affect the livelihoods of many people worldwide, across more than 60 different countries. Recent research suggests locust swarms can be triggered in response to low nitrogen in their host plants. Intensive grazing is known to trigger these low-nitrogen conditions. Similarly, past evidence supports that increased precipitation may increase the rate at which soil nitrogen stocks are depleted, leading to favorable conditions for locust outbreaks. These interactions are particularly important to understand given increased worldwide demand for animal products and expectations for increased rainfall in the region, which unmanaged could increase the frequency and intensity of locust outbreaks. This project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Le Kang at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station (IMGERS) in Inner Mongolia, China. IMGERS has several parcels under long-term management utilizing different grazing systems, and is an area of intensive research on the Mongolian locust, Oedaleus asiaticus.This study will utilize a paired plot design, sampling from 1m circular plots on continuously grazed parcels at 1.5 and 9 sheep/ha stocking rates. Each plot will receive either an ambient (1x) or supplemented (2x) precipitation treatment. Soil NO3- and NH4+ will serve as response variables, collected using partially enclosed ion-exchange resin membranes over two week intervals on each plot. Grass nitrogen and carbon content will be measured to assess plant nutrient uptake across treatments, and confined, field-captured locust nymphs will be used to assess the optimality of host plants as a food source in response to treatment type. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

蝗虫群影响到全世界60多个国家许多人的生计。最近的研究表明，蝗虫群可以在其宿主植物中的低氮条件下引发。众所周知，密集放牧会引发这些低氮条件。同样，过去的证据表明，降水量的增加可能会增加土壤氮储量枯竭的速度，导致蝗虫爆发的有利条件。考虑到全世界对动物产品的需求增加，以及该区域降雨量预计会增加，如果不加以管理，可能会增加蝗虫暴发的频率和强度，因此了解这些相互作用尤为重要。该项目将与中国内蒙古内蒙古草原生态系统研究站（IMGERS）的Le Kang博士合作进行。IMGERS有几个长期管理的地块，利用不同的放牧制度，是一个地区的蒙古蝗虫，Oedaleus asiaticus的深入研究，这项研究将采用配对样地设计，从1 m的圆形样地连续放牧地块在1.5和9羊/公顷的载畜率。每个地块将接受环境（1x）或补充（2x）沉淀处理。土壤NO3-和NH 4+将作为响应变量，使用部分封闭的离子交换树脂膜在每个地块上收集两周的时间间隔。草氮和碳含量将被测量，以评估植物养分吸收的治疗，并限制，现场捕获的蝗虫将被用来评估宿主植物作为食物来源的最佳响应治疗类型。NSF EAPSI奖是与中国科技部合作资助的。