Fire and herbivores as long-term drivers of grass-dominated systems in Central and Eastern Europe

火灾和食草动物是中欧和东欧以草为主的系统的长期驱动因素

• 批准号: 524738963
• 负责人: Dr. Angelica Nicoleta Feurdean
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Physische Geographie (IPG)
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/524738963?language=en
• 关键词: Fire; herbivores; long; term; drivers

Grass-dominated ecosystems (grasslands and forest-steppe) in central and eastern Europe play a critical role in biodiversity, climate, livelihoods, and offer many ecosystem services. In terms of their ecology, these systems differ significantly from forests and face different threats. They often do not conform to standard biodiversity concepts such as naturalness and the concept of climax vegetation. Human impact, combined with limited knowledge of their origins and past dynamics, has contributed to the degradation and loss of grass-dominated temperate ecosystems. Their reforestation is still actively promoted to mitigate climate change through enhanced carbon fixation. Approaches with broad temporal and spatial scales are needed to fill knowledge gaps about these ecosystems. This project will use multi-proxy Lateglacial and Holocene records from locations in natural steppe grasslands and forest-steppe in central and eastern Europe (Serbia and Romania) to determine their origin and past dynamics and identify the factors that maintain them and their biodiversity. I will explore the role of two consumers, fire, and herbivores on vegetation against the background of changing climate conditions over time. I expect interactions and feedbacks between these drivers, with additional alterations where human influence became relevant. In an interdisciplinary approach, I will combine a range of paleoecological methods (charcoal metrics, pollen, plant macrofossils, coprophilous spores, testate amoebae, and stable isotopes) and with quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstruction. Using information from archaeozoological and paleontological databases and sources on population dynamics will help to explore more comprehensive changes in the vegetation composition and diversity associated with the dynamics of herbivory type, diversity, and intensity change. Statistical approaches will help reveal critical thresholds and transitions in system states. Understanding the processes that shape and maintain grass-dominated systems and their extraordinary diversity will advance their scientific recognition and improve conservation strategies. This is essential to mitigate future impacts from climate, consumers, and people on grass-dominated ecosystems in this region and conserve natural resources, human livelihoods, biodiversity, and ecosystem functions and services.

中欧和东欧以草为主的生态系统（草原和森林草原）在生物多样性、气候、生计方面发挥着关键作用，并提供许多生态系统服务。就其生态而言，这些系统与森林有很大不同，面临着不同的威胁。它们往往不符合标准的生物多样性概念，如自然性和顶极植被的概念。人类的影响，加上对其起源和过去动态的有限了解，导致以草为主的温带生态系统退化和丧失。目前仍在积极推动这些国家重新造林，以通过加强固碳来减缓气候变化。需要采取具有广泛的时间和空间尺度的方法来填补有关这些生态系统的知识空白。该项目将使用中欧和东欧（塞尔维亚和罗马尼亚）天然草原和森林草原地点的多代次晚冰期和全新世记录，以确定其起源和过去的动态，并确定维持其生物多样性的因素。我将探讨两个消费者的作用，火，和草食动物对植被的背景下，随着时间的推移不断变化的气候条件。我期待这些驱动因素之间的互动和反馈，以及与人类影响相关的其他改变。在一个跨学科的方法，我将结合联合收割机一系列的古生态学方法（木炭指标，花粉，植物宏化石，粪生孢子，有壳变形虫，稳定同位素）和定量花粉为基础的植被重建。利用考古动物学和古生物学数据库和人口动态来源的信息，将有助于探索更全面的变化与草食动物的类型，多样性和强度变化的动态相关的植被组成和多样性。统计方法将有助于揭示系统状态的临界阈值和转换。了解形成和维持草为主的系统及其非凡的多样性的过程将促进他们的科学认识和改善保护战略。这对于减轻气候、消费者和人类对该地区草占主导地位的生态系统的未来影响，保护自然资源、人类生计、生物多样性以及生态系统功能和服务至关重要。