EAPSI:Identifying Indicator Species of Desert Steppe, Typical Steppe and Meadow Steppe Environments Along a Grazing Gradient in Inner Mongolia

指示物种是一种可以用来推断特定栖息地条件的植物物种。这类物种的分类对于监测牧场状况和实施适当的土地管理战略至关重要。在过去的几十年里，内蒙古的游牧民族一直承受着沙漠化、过度放牧和快速发展的采煤业带来的退化景观的巨大压力。在美国，指示物种被用来识别一个地区的环境状况，并在指示物种被认定为濒危物种时提出及早采取行动进行改变。在这项研究中，首席研究员(PI)将与内蒙古农业大学(IMAU)的韩国栋博士合作。作为生态系统服务、草原管理系统和放牧技术方面的领先专家，韩博士在蒙古高原草原上进行研究将是无价的。PI将在三个不同地区的植物群落内进行测量，以衡量生态系统对侵蚀沙子的脆弱性。PI和IMAU之间的合作努力将鼓励美国土地管理机构和中国之间的合作伙伴关系，并为两国分享科学知识提供机会。为了确定蒙古高原上的指示物种，研究人员需要了解生态系统的结构。PI将测量属性，包括物种丰富度、物种存在与否、密度、频率、生物量以及基础和冠层盖度。采样植被属性将使研究人员能够在更知情的情况下做出决定，并为研究区域内外的草原管理制定有效的缓解战略。研究将采用3x4设计，用最少的材料容易地建造1mx1m的样方；因素将是生态位置(n=3)和放牧强度(n=4)。放牧强度将被归类为重度、中度、轻度和无(对照)，根据与水的距离增加来定义。植被属性，结合每个物种的一般特征(如生长形式、寿命、繁殖策略、开花时间和大小)，将为确定研究地点内的指示物种提供框架。该奖项由东亚和太平洋夏季学院计划资助一名美国研究生进行夏季研究，由国家自然科学基金和中国的科技部联合资助。

Indicator species are a species of plant that can be used to infer conditions within a particular habitat. The classification of such species is essential to monitoring rangeland conditions and implementing proper land management strategies. Over the last few decades, the nomadic people of Inner Mongolia have been under intense pressures from desertification, overgrazing, and degrading landscapes from the rapidly growing coal-mining industry. In the United States, indicator species are used to identify environmental conditions of a region, and propose early action for change when indicator species are recognized as endangered. With this research, the principal investigator (PI) will work in collaboration with Dr. Guodong Han of the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (IMAU). As a leading expert on ecosystem services, grassland management systems, and grazing techniques, Dr. Han will be invaluable while conducting research on the grasslands of the Mongolian Plateau. The PI will take measurements within the plant communities of three different regions to gauge the vulnerability of the ecosystem to encroaching sands. A collaborative effort between the PI and IMAU will encourage a partnership between land management agencies in the US and China, and provide the opportunity for scientific knowledge to be shared between both nations.To identify indicator species on the Mongolian Plateau, the researcher needs to understand the structure of the ecosystem. The PI will measure attributes including species abundance, species presence or absence, density, frequency, biomass, and basal and canopy cover. Sampling vegetation attributes will allow for the researcher to make better-informed decisions, and develop effective mitigation strategies for grassland management within the study area and beyond. The research will be conducted using a 3 x 4 design with 1m x 1m quadrats easily constructed from minimal material; factors will be ecological site (n=3) and grazing intensity (n=4). Grazing intensities will be categorized as heavy, moderate, light, and none (control), as defined by increased distances from water. Vegetation attributes, combined with general traits of each species (e.g. growth form, life span, reproduction strategy, flowering time, and size) will provide a framework for the identification of indicator species within the research sites.This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the Ministry of Science and Technology of China.