Collaborative Research: OPUS: Understanding the Complexity of Grazing Ecosystems Through Synthesis

合作研究：OPUS：通过综合了解放牧生态系统的复杂性

• 批准号: 2143437
• 负责人: Douglas Frank
• 金额: $ 16.52万
• 依托单位: Syracuse University
• 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: 2022-05-01 至 2025-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2143437&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; OPUS; Understanding; Complexity

Much of the plant material on Earth is consumed by large animals. In North America, these animals include herbivores such as deer, elk, moose, and bison. These grazers have profound effects on grasslands and forests. Ecosystem processes such as plant production, nutrient cycling, and carbon storage can vary widely due to herbivores. Understanding the factors controlling that variation is critical for management of the ecosystems that support these animals. Unfortunately, the forces causing spatial and temporal variation on grazed grasslands are poorly understood. This project helps fill that knowledge gap by analyzing a large amount of data gathered over more than three decades in Yellowstone National Park (YNP). The project also provides valuable public access to a unique dataset, training opportunities for undergraduate students, and outreach to the public as well as to National Park Service scientists, managers, and interpretive staff.The effects of migratory herds of elk and bison on grassland soil and plant processes have been measured in YNP since 1988. Over that period, 11 different field experiments were conducted at 42 different grassland sites. Together those independent data sets include measurements of herbivore effects on key plant and soil processes. A wide range of plant community types, soil conditions and climate conditions are represented. There are three goals of the project: (1) to compile the data collected in YNP into a single data set and upload it to a platform for public access, (2) to determine the relative effects of climate, plant composition, soil properties, and herbivores on ecosystem processes, and (3) to use the DayCent model to study the effects of these processes on soil carbon storage in YNP grasslands. The synthesis of the data provides a rare opportunity to mechanistically understand how both spatial and temporal variability interact with large herbivores to determine grassland plant and soil processes.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.

地球上的大部分植物都被大型动物消耗掉了。在北美，这些动物包括鹿、麋鹿、驼鹿和野牛等食草动物。这些食草动物对草原和森林有着深远的影响。由于食草动物的不同，植物生产、养分循环和碳储存等生态系统过程会发生很大的变化。了解控制这种变化的因素对于管理支持这些动物的生态系统至关重要。不幸的是，造成放牧草地时空变化的力量知之甚少。该项目通过分析在黄石国家公园（YNP）收集的30多年来的大量数据，帮助填补了这一知识空白。该项目还为公众提供了访问独特数据集的宝贵机会，为本科生提供了培训机会，并向公众以及国家公园管理局的科学家、管理人员和口译人员提供了推广服务。自1988年以来，在YNP测量了麋鹿和野牛迁徙群对草地土壤和植物过程的影响。在此期间，在42个不同的草地地点进行了11次不同的野外试验。这些独立的数据集包括草食动物对关键植物和土壤过程影响的测量结果。这里有广泛的植物群落类型、土壤条件和气候条件。该项目的目标有三个：(1)将YNP收集的数据整理成一个单一的数据集，并将其上传到公共访问平台；(2)确定气候、植物组成、土壤性质和食草动物对生态系统过程的相对影响；(3)使用DayCent模型研究这些过程对YNP草原土壤碳储量的影响。这些数据的综合提供了一个难得的机会，可以从机制上理解空间和时间变异如何与大型食草动物相互作用，从而确定草地植物和土壤过程。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。