CAREER: Microclimate Amelioration Underlying Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning Research

职业：生物多样性生态系统功能研究背后的小气候改善

• 批准号: 2143186
• 负责人: Alexandra Wright
• 金额: $ 97.65万
• 依托单位: California State L A University Auxiliary Services Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-06-01 至 2027-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2143186&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Microclimate; Amelioration; Underlying; Biodiversity

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117- 2).Many species are currently threatened with extinction. This extinction crisis has important implications for how ecosystems function. In particular, loss of species may lead to loss of biological buffers that have been in place for thousands of years. The loss of these buffers could make systems more vulnerable to stressors such as drought. Understanding how biodiversity helps buffer our ecosystems from environmental stressors is an essential next step to predicting the consequences of future extinctions. This understanding will also help us understand how ecosystems can possibly retain function with fewer species. This project examines how different species of plants can modify the microclimate around them, such as decreased temperatures, increased humidity and increased soil moisture. The modification of microclimate may be one important mechanism allowing many species to coexist, which is a key to biodiversity. This project also provides research opportunities and education to graduate students and undergraduate students.This project tests the role of microclimate modification effects in determining relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function. The approach is to design a series of biodiversity microclimate humidification experiments both in a greenhouse setting and in a network of sites across Los Angeles County, California. Several species of grasses native to California are used in the experiments because they are very sensitive to changing moisture conditions. This project examines microclimate modification effects in three important ways: (1) using a biodiversity experiment to examine the strength of microclimate amelioration and whether it can explain positive biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships under natural drought conditions, (2) using careful physiological measurements to assess whether microclimate amelioration is driven by plant functional traits (e.g. rooting depth or water use efficiency), whole community structure (e.g. canopy complexity and boundary layer conditions), or merely creating a physical shade barrier, and (3) examining the role of microclimate amelioration in higher plant diversity communities in an urban arid ecosystem.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.

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。许多物种目前正面临灭绝的威胁。这场物种灭绝危机对生态系统的功能有着重要的影响。特别是，物种的丧失可能会导致数千年来一直存在的生物缓冲区的丧失。这些缓冲区的丧失可能会使系统更容易受到干旱等压力因素的影响。了解生物多样性如何帮助我们的生态系统免受环境压力的影响，是预测未来物种灭绝后果的关键下一步。这一理解还将帮助我们理解生态系统如何可能在较少物种的情况下保持功能。这个项目研究不同种类的植物如何改变它们周围的小气候，如降低温度、增加湿度和增加土壤水分。小气候的改变可能是允许多种物种共存的重要机制之一，这是生物多样性的关键。该项目还为研究生和本科生提供研究机会和教育。该项目测试小气候变化效应在确定生物多样性和生态系统功能之间的关系中的作用。该方法是在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶县的温室环境和现场网络中设计一系列生物多样性小气候增湿实验。实验中使用了几种原产于加州的草，因为它们对水分条件的变化非常敏感。该项目从三个重要方面考察小气候的改善效果：(1)利用生物多样性实验来检验小气候改善的强度，以及它是否能解释自然干旱条件下生物多样性与生态系统功能之间的积极关系；(2)使用仔细的生理测量来评估小气候的改善是由植物功能特征(如根深或水分利用效率)、整个群落结构(如冠层复杂性和边界层条件)驱动的，还是仅仅是创造了一个物理遮荫屏障，以及(3)研究小气候改善在城市干旱生态系统中高等植物多样性社区中的作用。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Drought experiments need to incorporate atmospheric drying to better simulate climate change

• DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biad105
• 发表时间: 2023-12
• 期刊: BioScience
• 影响因子: 10.1
• 作者: A. Wright;Scott L. Collins

Soil versus atmospheric drought: A test case of plant functional trait responses

土壤与大气干旱：植物功能性状反应的测试案例

• DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4109
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: Ecology
• 影响因子: 4.8
• 作者: Watson, Samantha J.;Aguirre, Beatriz A.;Wright, Alexandra J.
• 通讯作者: Wright, Alexandra J.

Plant–plant interactions can mitigate (or exacerbate) hot drought impacts

植物与植物之间的相互作用可以减轻（或加剧）炎热干旱的影响

• DOI: 10.1111/nph.19473
• 发表时间: 2024
• 期刊: New Phytologist
• 影响因子: 9.4
• 作者: Wright, Alexandra J.