Land-use legacies in ecosystems: impacts of historical land use on carbon storage and species composition in Quebec

生态系统中的土地利用遗产：历史土地利用对魁北克碳储存和物种组成的影响

• 批准号: 386653-2012
• 负责人: Rhemtulla, Jeanine
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2015-01-01 至 2016-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=573003
• 关键词: Land; use; legacies; ecosystems; impacts

Anthropogenic land-use is the most pervasive and persistent driver of change in ecosystems. At the global scale, land-use is the second greatest source of net carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and the most important driver of biodiversity loss. Moreover, land-use legacies can persist for thousands of years after direct use has ceased through altered nutrient cycling and species composition. Despite the importance of land-use legacies in ecosystems, many of the underlying mechanisms are still not well understood. The role of land-use history in driving the critical terrestrial carbon sink, for example, remains uncertain, as do the mechanisms by which land use history affects biodiversity. The long-term objective of my research program is thus to examine the extent and influence of historical land-use legacies on changes in ecosystem structure and function, with a view to demonstrating how this knowledge can enhance carbon and ecosystem management. In the short term, the research will be focused in Quebec, a region well suited to these issues given its 300+ years of varied land-use history. I will address the following questions: (1) How has historical land use affected forest extent, composition, and spatial pattern across Quebec since European settlement? (2) How has land-use history impacted forest carbon storage? Has forest regrowth provided a significant carbon sink? What is the potential for future forest sequestration? (3) What are the mechanisms driving changes in forest biodiversity and pathways of recovery? In particular, what is the role of historical and current landscape configuration and connectivity? The research has important policy applications for forest management in southern Canadian landscapes, including enhancing forest carbon sequestration to help meet climate mitigation targets and providing rules of thumb for prioritizing forest protection to enhance ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes.

人为土地利用是生态系统变化最普遍和最持久的驱动因素。在全球范围内，土地利用是大气二氧化碳净排放的第二大来源，也是生物多样性丧失的最重要驱动因素。此外，通过改变养分循环和物种组成，土地利用遗产可以在直接利用停止后持续数千年。尽管土地利用遗产在生态系统中的重要性，但许多潜在的机制仍然没有得到很好的理解。例如，土地利用历史在驱动关键陆地碳汇方面的作用仍然不确定，土地利用历史影响生物多样性的机制也不确定。