FSML: Planning for the Future of the Las Cruces Research Station, Costa Rica

拉斯克鲁塞斯规划会议的目标是为位于哥斯达黎加南部的热带研究组织外地站拉斯克鲁塞斯研究站制定一项五年发展计划。该站拥有365公顷的原生林和次生林，是中美洲最重要的植物园之一。空间站的物理位置使其处于自然和人类动力学的交汇点，而自然和人类动力学是热带环境科学的核心。它坐落在农业景观中，但由于地形崎岖，周围残存的森林碎片，以及作为中美洲两个最关键的保护区--拉阿米斯塔德国际公园和奥萨半岛之间生物走廊的一部分，它具有异常高的生物多样性水平。然而，目前缺乏足够的基础设施是正在进行的和新的研究路线的一个强有力的限制因素。拉斯克鲁塞斯规划会议将讨论扩建空间站基础设施以满足当前项目需要的问题，并允许进行现代化和技术改进，使空间站成为研究和保护中心。关于更广泛的物理条件及其时间行为的可靠数据对于理解自然系统的功能和动力学正变得越来越重要。拉斯克鲁塞斯规划会议将评估扩大环境监测和仪器设备的机会，并评估改善网络基础设施的相关需求。最后，空间站设施的升级将开辟新的研究路线，可以与学生的教育和研究培训机会相结合。拉斯克鲁塞斯研究站目前正在支持一系列正在进行的项目，解决生物地理学、森林碎片化和生态恢复方面的景观问题。拉斯克鲁塞斯规划会议将侧重于：(1)最充分利用拉斯克鲁塞斯-拉斯阿尔图拉斯生物地球物理环境的现有研究领域以及新的研究方向，特别是在环境科学方面的潜在扩展；(2)支持现有和新兴研究领域所需的新设施、实验室基础设施、网络基础设施和设备；(3)支持现有和新出现的研究问题所需的关键环境监测和仪器设备；(4)将这项研究与对学生的教育和研究培训相结合。计划拨款将使16名美国研究人员和研究生能够前往拉斯克鲁塞斯参加为期三天的研讨会，在哥斯达黎加的圣何塞过夜，距离空间站6个小时。规划会议将促进来自一系列学科的知名科学家以及研究生和本科生之间的交流，并使热带环境科学研究出现新的想法和方向。预计拉斯克鲁塞斯研究站的这些研究人员和学生之间的合作将导致新的地区性多学科项目的发展。因此，拉斯克鲁塞斯规划会议将通过鼓励合作和规划新的教育机会和实践实地研究项目，为代表性不足的群体增加机会。

The objective of the Las Cruces planning session is to produce a five-year development plan for the Las Cruces Research Station, a field station of the Organization for Tropical Studies located in southern Costa Rica. The station contains 365-ha of primary and secondary forest and one of the most important botanical gardens in Central America. The station's physical location places it at the intersection of natural and human dynamics that are central to tropical environmental science. It is embedded in an agricultural landscape yet has exceptionally high levels of biodiversity due to the rugged topography, the surrounding remnant forest fragments, and its role as part of a biological corridor between two of the most critical conservation areas in Central America: La Amistad International Park and the Osa Peninsula. However, the current lack of adequate infrastructure is a strong limiting factor to ongoing and new lines of research. The Las Cruces planning session will address expansion of station infrastructure to meet current project needs and allow for the modernization and technological improvements that will make the station a hub for research and conservation. The importance of reliable data on a broader range of physical conditions and their temporal behavior is becoming ever more critical to understand the function and dynamics of natural systems. The Las Cruces planning session will assess the opportunities for expansion of environmental monitoring and instrumentation and evaluate associated needs for improved cyberinfrastructure. Finally, upgrades to station facilities will open new lines of research that can be integrated with education and research training opportunities for students. Las Cruces Research Station currently supports a suite of ongoing projects addressing landscape-level question in biogeography, forest fragmentation, and ecological restoration. The Las Cruces planning session will focus on: (i) potential expansion in current research areas as well as new research directions, especially in environmental sciences, that best utilizes the Las Cruces-Las Alturas biogeophysical setting; (ii) new facilities, laboratory infrastructure, cyberinfrastructure, and equipment needed to support current and emerging areas of research; (iii) key environmental monitoring and instrumentation needed to support existing and emerging research questions; and (iv) integration of this research with education and research training for students. The planning grant will enable sixteen U.S. researchers and graduate students to travel to Las Cruces for a three-day workshop, with overnights in San Jose, Costa Rica, six hours from the station. The planning session will facilitate communication among established scientists as well as graduate and undergraduate students from a range of disciplines and enable new ideas and directions for research in tropical environmental sciences to emerge. Collaboration among these researchers and students at Las Cruces Research Station is expected to result in the development of new, regional multi-disciplinary projects. As such, the Las Cruces planning session will enhance opportunities for underrepresented groups by encouraging collaboration and planning for new education opportunities and hands-on field research projects.