Functional ecology of the alpine cryptogamasphere in the face of change (CryptFunc)

面对变化的高山隐球球的功能生态学（CryptFunc）

• 批准号: NE/Y000412/1
• 负责人: Robert Mills
• 金额: $ 65.68万
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FY000412%2F1
• 关键词: Functional; ecology; alpine; cryptogamasphere; face

Cryptogams (mosses, lichens) are a conspicuous part of the ecology of alpine and higher-latitude ecosystems, and are important for cycling carbon and nutrients. In particular, how cryptogams take nitrogen from the atmosphere (N-fixation), could be of considerable importance in these systems, where nutrients are generally not easily accessible by plants and microbes. Our understanding on these processes is poor, especially in the alpine, and especially for times of the year outside of the main summer growing season. This is concerning given how climate change is disproportionally effecting higher latitude, higher elevation, ecosystems, and through changing snow-cover, affecting winter strongly. This also means that understanding the role cryptogams plays in global climate modelling is not well resolved, and in ecosystem where they are abundant, this is a shortcoming. Cryptogams also have a diverse microbial community inhabiting the aboveground parts. As part of a complex microbial food web, this includes photosynthesising organisms and microbes that can fix atmospheric nitrogen. Currently, we have little information on the molecular ecology of these communities, and if the structure and function of the microbe-cryptogam system varies over time, and amongst different cryptogams. To understand this, and how alpine cryptogams function over time and in response to changing energy and nutrient availability, we will study four different species of cryptogams in our fieldsite in the Cairngorms of eastern Scotland. In this sub-arctic alpine environment, we will measure how C and N are captured and cycled by cryptogams, measure for the first time how these processes occur under snow, and track the fate of C and N into soils. We will use shading methods to change how C enters to the system, allowing us to determine how cryptogams change their nutrient cycling under altered energy availability. Together, these investigations will help us better model how these ecosystems under a changing climate, and increase our understanding of the ecology of the cryptogamosphere.

隐藓类（苔藓、地衣）是高寒和高纬度生态系统的重要组成部分，对碳和养分的循环具有重要意义。特别是，隐藻如何从大气中吸收氮（固氮），在这些系统中可能相当重要，在这些系统中，植物和微生物通常不容易获得营养物质。我们对这些过程的了解很少，特别是在高山地区，特别是在主要的夏季生长季节以外的一年里。考虑到气候变化是如何不成比例地影响高纬度、高海拔、生态系统，并通过改变积雪覆盖，强烈影响冬季，这一点令人担忧。这也意味着对密码游戏在全球气候模拟中的作用的理解还没有很好地解决，而在密码游戏丰富的生态系统中，这是一个缺点。Cryptogams的地上部分也有不同的微生物群落。作为复杂的微生物食物网的一部分，这包括光合作用生物和可以固定大气氮的微生物。目前，我们对这些群落的分子生态学知之甚少，以及微生物-隐菌系统的结构和功能是否随时间和不同隐菌之间的变化而变化。为了了解这一点，以及高山隐花是如何随着时间的推移以及对能量和养分可用性变化的反应而发挥作用的，我们将在苏格兰东部Cairngorms的野外研究地点研究四种不同的隐花。在这个亚北极的高山环境中，我们将测量C和N是如何被cryptogams捕获和循环的，首次测量这些过程是如何在雪下发生的，并跟踪C和N进入土壤的命运。我们将使用遮阳方法来改变C进入系统的方式，使我们能够确定在改变能量可用性的情况下隐藻如何改变其营养循环。总之，这些调查将帮助我们更好地模拟这些生态系统在气候变化下的变化，并增加我们对隐层生态学的理解。