RAPID: Invasion of Geoengineering Earthworms in Alaska: Extents, Mechanisms, and Impacts

地球北部几乎所有的生物群系都是在上一次冰期极大期没有蚯蚓的情况下进化的。然而，由于世界寒冷地区不断加剧的人为干扰和土地利用变化，这种现状正在迅速改变。入侵的欧洲蚯蚓现在开始出现在阿拉斯加永久冻土层的边缘。在这些入侵蚯蚓中，地球工程蚯蚓包括物理上扰乱土壤环境的物种。地球工程蚯蚓的入侵是一个不可逆转的过程，导致土壤碳和养分循环等生态系统功能迅速恶化，动植物生物多样性减少。早期干预是关键，迫切需要建立阿拉斯加蚯蚓入侵的基础科学知识。在这里，首席研究员建议对阿拉斯加不同生态区域的外来蚯蚓的分布和主要引入机制进行快速评估。这项研究还将揭示入侵蚯蚓对阿拉斯加北方和苔原土壤的破坏程度。通过与基奈国家野生动物保护区、阿拉斯加大学农业推广站、费尔班克斯和阿拉斯加大学博物馆的合作，研究人员将利用这个RAPID项目，促进机构、公众和政策层面的行动，在阿拉斯加蚯蚓入侵的萌芽阶段采取行动，以免为时已晚。阿拉斯加广袤的北方森林和苔原正日益受到持续的气候变化的威胁。然而，全球尺度的气候对土壤生物地球化学的影响可以通过增加引进外来的欧洲地球工程蚯蚓而大大加速。该项目的目标是：(1)为即将到来的变化紧急准备研究界；(2)促进早期干预以阻止阿拉斯加的蚯蚓入侵。研究者试图验证以下假设：1)人类的引入（而不是气候条件）主要限制了目前阿拉斯加蚯蚓的分布；2)外来地球工程蚯蚓对阿拉斯加土壤的影响比对美国毗邻的前冰川温带森林的影响更大；3)阿拉斯加地区外来地球工程蚯蚓的种类组成因人类引进机制的不同而不同；蚯蚓入侵寒带和苔原的能力取决于它们的种群构成。为了验证这些假设，研究人员将在反映主要生态区域和气候条件范围（包括阿拉斯加永久冻土层的范围）的野外地点，检查蚯蚓种群及其对人类干扰区域和周围自然植被之间的土壤的影响。这个RAPID项目将通过强调阿拉斯加北极地区在人类土地利用变化和气候变化共同作用下的脆弱性，为推动科学发展做出贡献。除了同行评议的出版物外，研究者还将出版一本小册子，帮助土地管理者和公民识别外来的地球工程蚯蚓的特性，并评估它们对阿拉斯加自然植被和土壤的影响。收集到的蚯蚓标本将被保存在阿拉斯加大学博物馆，标本相关信息将通过博物馆的数据库在线发布，供更广泛的科学界和公众使用。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Almost all of Earth's northern biomes have evolved in the absence of earthworms since the last glacial maximum. This status quo is rapidly changing, however, due to advancing human disturbances and land use changes in the cold regions of the world. Invasive European earthworms are now beginning to appear at the edge of Alaskan permafrost. Among these invasive earthworms, geoengineering earthworms include species that physically disturb soil environments. Invasion of geoengineering earthworms is an irreversible process resulting in rapid deterioration of ecosystem functions including soil carbon and nutrient cycling and reduction of floral and faunal biodiversity. Early intervention is key, and it is urgent to establish the underlying scientific knowledge of earthworm invasion in Alaska. Here the principal investigator proposes to conduct rapid assessments of the distribution and primary introduction mechanisms of exotic earthworms across diverse ecoregions in Alaska. This research will also reveal the extents that the invasive earthworms, where present, disturb boreal and tundra soils in Alaska. By collaborating with Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Agricultural Extension Station of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and the University of Alaska Museum, the investigator will leverage this RAPID project as a way to facilitate agency-, public-, and policy-level actions to stop earthworm invasion in Alaska in its infancy - before it is too late to act.The vast boreal forests and tundra of Alaska are increasingly threatened by ongoing climate change. Global scale climate impacts on soil biogeochemistry can, however, be substantially accelerated by increasing introductions of exotic European geoengineering earthworms. The project goal is to (1) urgently prepare research community for this upcoming change and (2) facilitate early intervention to stop earthworm invasion in Alaska. The investigator seeks to test the following hypotheses: 1) human introduction (not climate conditions) primarily limits the current earthworm distribution in Alaska; 2) impacts of exotic geoengineering earthworms on Alaskan soils are more dramatic than those reported for the formerly glaciated temperate forests in the contiguous U.S.; 3) species composition of exotic geoengineering earthworms differs by human introduction mechanisms in Alaska; and 4) earthworms' ability to invade into boreal and tundra depend on their population compositions. To test the hypotheses, the investigator will examine earthworm populations and their impacts on soils at the interfaces between human-disturbed areas and the surrounding natural vegetation at field sites that reflect the major eco-regions and range of climate conditions including extents of permafrost in Alaska. This RAPID project will contribute to advancing science by newly highlighting the vulnerability of the Alaskan Arctic to the combination of both human land use changes and climate change. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, the investigator will publish a booklet that helps land managers and citizens to identify exotic geoengineering earthworms on their properties and assess their impacts on the natural vegetation and soils in Alaska. Collected earthworm specimens will be archived in the University of Alaska Museum, and specimen-specific information will be published online through the Museum's database for the broader scientific community and the public.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.