IRES Track 1: Ecological responses to rainfall across the Namib Desert climate gradient

IRES 轨道 1：纳米布沙漠气候梯度降雨的生态响应

• 批准号: 1854156
• 负责人: Heather Throop
• 金额: $ 30万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-04-15 至 2025-03-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1854156&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IRES; Track; Ecological; responses; rainfall

Drylands (arid and semi-arid ecosystems) are of global ecological and socioeconomic importance as they cover nearly half of the earth's terrestrial surface and support a large and growing portion of the earth's human population and livestock production. Despite their importance, ecological processes in drylands are poorly understood relative to wetter systems. This lack of knowledge limits available information for informed dryland management. The project aims to address this knowledge gap by training US undergraduate and graduate students to carry out international research in dryland ecosystems. The Global Drylands Center-Gobabeb Research Opportunity will provide intensive training for eighteen US students over a three year period. The student activities will last for eight weeks each summer, during which students will conduct research at the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre, located in the heart of the oldest desert in the world, the Namib Desert of Namibia. US students will work collaboratively with Namibian interns, Namibian mentors, and US PIs to design and carry out novel research projects that will use a unique precipitation gradient to explore how climate and soil composition affect ecological processes in drylands. Students will prepare for the research experience through an online seminar in the semester before travel and will participate in follow-up synthesis activities in the semester following their research experience. These research projects will train a cohort of US students in research techniques, positioning them for careers that will advance our understanding of dryland ecosystems. The use of research teams composed of US students, Namibian interns, and Namibian faculty mentors will provide valuable training in collaborative research and communication skills. This program will help develop a new generation of internationally-engaged dryland scientists, thus enhancing capacities and contributing to the ecological knowledge base, paramount for sustainable use and management of drylands. Scientific understanding of ecological processes in dryland systems is limited relative to wetter systems. This knowledge gap reflects both historical research biases and the transmission of these biases to successive generations of student scientists. Little scientific study of drylands is amplified by the fact that vast areas of global drylands are located in developing nations with limited scientific resources. A step toward enhancing our basic and applied knowledge in drylands is providing training opportunities for students in international dryland research and developing a next generation of scientific leaders who can effectively collaborate in international arenas. Increased leadership by US scientists in international dryland research will enhance understanding of our own drylands and improve basic science and land management in developing nations. The Namib Desert of Namibia offers a unique natural experiment for quantifying mechanistic controls over biogeochemical, ecological, and physiological processes in drylands because of a steep precipitation gradient coincides with contrasting soil surfaces. The close geographic proximity of sites with contrasting rainfall and soil types, access to a well-equipped research station, and existing relationships with Namibian scientists make this an excellent site for a research training program that will help develop a new generation of internationally-engaged dryland scientists. The Global Drylands Center-Gobabeb Research Opportunity (GDC-GRO) will facilitate research projects which will be carried out by teams of US students (undergraduate and graduate) and Namibian interns who will work closely with Namibian mentors and US PIs. A total of eighteen US students will participate (four undergraduates and two graduate students in each of the three years). Intensive IRES activities will last eight weeks each year, with preparation activities in the semester beforehand through an online seminar and follow-up synthesis activities in the semester following the IRES experience. Key players in this proposal are Namibian mentors (from University of Namibia, Namibia University of Science and Technology and Gobabeb Research and Training Centre) who are eager to work with student teams and US PIs to develop substantive research projects across the Namib precipitation gradient.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

旱地（干旱和半干旱生态系统）具有全球生态和社会经济的重要性，因为它们覆盖了地球近一半的地面表面，并支持地球大部分人口的大部分人口和牲畜生产。尽管它们的重要性，但相对于湿系统，旱地的生态过程知之甚少。缺乏知识限制的可用信息用于知情的旱地管理。该项目旨在通过培训我们的本科和研究生来解决这一知识差距，以在旱地生态系统中进行国际研究。全球旱地中心研究机会将在三年内为十八名学生提供深入的培训。每年夏天，学生活动将持续八个星期，在此期间，学生将在世界上最古老的沙漠中心的Gobabeb研究与培训中心进行研究。美国学生将与纳米比亚实习生，纳米比亚导师和美国PIS合作，设计和执行新颖的研究项目，这些项目将使用独特的降水梯度来探索气候和土壤组成如何影响旱地的生态过程。学生将在旅行前的学期通过在线研讨会为研究经验做准备，并在他们的研究经验之后参加学期的后续合成活动。这些研究项目将培训一群美国学生的研究技术，将其定位为职业，以提高我们对旱地生态系统的理解。使用由美国学生，纳米比亚实习生和纳米比亚教师导师组成的研究团队的使用将在协作研究和沟通技巧方面提供宝贵的培训。该计划将有助于开发新一代的国际参与的旱地科学家，从而提高能力并为生态知识基础做出贡献，这是可持续使用和对旱地管理的重要性。对旱地系统中生态过程的科学理解相对于湿系统有限。这种知识差距反映了历史研究的偏见，也反映了这些偏见向后代的学生科学家传播。大量的全球旱地地区位于科学资源有限的发展中国家，对旱地的科学研究很少。迈向增强我们在旱地的基本知识的一步是为国际旱地研究的学生提供培训机会，并培养可以在国际领域有效合作的下一代科学领导者。美国科学家在国际旱地研究中的领导力提高将增强对我们自己的旱地的理解，并改善发展中国家的基础科学和土地管理。纳米比亚的纳米布沙漠提供了一个独特的自然实验，用于量化旱地的生物地球化学，生态和生理过程的机理控制，因为陡峭的降水梯度与对比鲜明的土壤表面相吻合。与降雨类型和土壤类型相比的地理位置的紧密地理位置，配备良好的研究站以及与纳米比亚科学家的现有关系使这是研究培训计划的绝佳地点，这将有助于发展新一代国际参与的旱地科学家。全球旱地中心-Gobabeb研究机会（GDC-GRO）将促进研究项目，这些项目将由美国学生团队（本科生和研究生）和纳米比亚实习生进行，他们将与纳米比亚导师和美国PIS紧密合作。共有十八名学生将参加（三年中的四名大学生和两名研究生）。 IRES活动将持续八周，并在IRES经验后通过在线研讨会和后续合成活动进行准备活动。该建议的主要参与者是纳米比亚的导师（来自纳米比亚大学，纳米比亚科学技术大学以及戈巴贝布研究与培训中心），他们渴望与学生团队和美国PIS合作，在NAMIB降水梯度上开发实质性研究项目，这是NSF的法定任务，反映了NSF的法规审查的经验，这是通过评估的范围来进行的。