LTER: Long Term Ecological Research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

近年来，对森林生态系统进行长期研究的需要明显加快。在提供木材产品和清洁水方面的传统利益已扩大到包括减缓气候变化、保护生物多样性以及生态和社会复原力。森林是复杂的生态系统，以长寿生物为主，在许多尺度上与相邻的生态系统密切相关。哈伯德布鲁克实验森林的长期研究集中在阔叶林的生态和管理上，重点是了解干扰在森林生态系统工作中的作用。随着长期研究中出现意想不到的观察结果，研究不断发展，提出了只能通过持续的长期研究来解决的问题。在这一最新阶段的研究中，将探索的最新惊喜是：1）一些树种的海拔分布发生了意想不到的变化，这些树种令人惊讶地向下迁移，而不是像预期的那样向上倾斜，以应对变暖的温度;（2）过去10年来，植物用水量急剧增加，（3）自20世纪70年代以来，一些鸟类、蝾螈、毛虫、还有甲虫哈伯德布鲁克研究的长期性使研究人员能够与利益相关者建立深厚的关系。这些关系也在不断发展，研究人员将使其多样化，以增加代表性不足的群体的参与。具体来说，他们将使研究的透镜更具包容性和更全面，并将招募新的参与者，使网站和社区更加多样化。该项目的首要研究主题是生态系统结构、组成和功能对干扰的长期响应。支撑该项目的概念模型设想了三种主要类型的干扰作为生态系统变化的驱动因素：不断变化的大气化学，不断变化的气候和不断变化的生物群。这些驱动因素的影响在地球物理模板上发挥作用，该模板包括地形、地质、土壤、植被和过去扰动历史的景观变化。在生态系统中，扰动影响水文、地球化学、植被和食物网动态的相互作用过程。概念模型正在演变，以侧重于景观中的"变化控制点"-具体地点和时间，在那里重大变化将开始或加速。该研究与由四个目标驱动的更广泛的影响活动相结合：（1）与北方森林生态区的不同社区成员和环境决策者建立长期，信任的关系;（2）招募和培训下一代生态系统科学家和环境领导人;（3）支持网站和更广泛的科学界内的多样性，公平，包容性和反种族主义（DEIA）;（4）推动研究，教育和推广创新。&为了实现这些目标，计划采取五种方法：公共和政策参与计划，科学教育和培训计划，艺术科学计划，开发和维护DEIA的基础设施，&和使用关键生态学方法，使该网站的研究透镜更具包容性和整体性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得支持，通过评估使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The need for long-term research on forest ecosystems has accelerated markedly in recent years. Traditional interests in provision of wood products and clean water have expanded to include climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and ecological and social resilience. Forests are complex ecosystems, dominated by long-lived organisms, and are highly connected to adjacent ecosystems at many scales. Long-term research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest has focused on the ecology and management of hardwood forests, with a focus on understanding the role of disturbance in how forest ecosystems work. The research has continually evolved as unexpected observations emerge from long-term studies, raising questions that can only be addressed with continued long-term research. Recent surprises that will be explored in this latest phase of research are: 1) unexpected changes in the elevational distribution of some tree species that have surprisingly migrated downward instead of up-slope as would be expected in response to warming temperatures; (2) abrupt increases in water use by plants over the past 10 years, and (3) significant declines since the 1970s in some species of birds, salamanders, caterpillars, and beetles. The long-term nature of studies at Hubbard Brook has allowed researchers to build deep relationships with stakeholders. These relationships are also evolving, and researchers will diversify them to increase participation of underrepresented groups. Specifically, they will make the lens of research more inclusive and more holistic and will recruit new participants to make the site and community more diverse. The overarching research theme of this project is the long-term response of ecosystem structure, composition, and function to disturbance. The conceptual model underpinning the project envisions three principal types of disturbance acting as drivers of change in the ecosystem: changing atmospheric chemistry, changing climate, and changing biota. The effects of these drivers play out on a biogeophysical template that includes variation across the landscape in topography, geology, soils, vegetation, and history of past disturbance. Within the ecosystem, the disturbances affect the interacting processes of hydrology, biogeochemistry, vegetation, and food web dynamics. The conceptual model is evolving to focus on “control points of change” in the landscape - specific places and times where significant changes will begin or accelerate. The research is integrated with broader impacts activities driven by four goals: (1) establish long-term, trusting relationships with diverse community members and environmental decision-makers across the northern forest ecoregion; (2) recruit and train the next generation of ecosystem scientists and environmental leaders; (3) support diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism (DEI&A) within the site and broader scientific communities; and (4) drive innovations in research, education, and outreach. To achieve these goals, five approaches are planned: public and policy engagement programs, science education and training programs, an art-science program, development and maintenance of infrastructure for DEI&A, and use of a Critical Ecology approach to make the lens of the site’s research more inclusive and holistic.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.