Dissertation Research: The Pattern and Process of Invasion Colonization and Establishment of Woody Plants Into Old Fields

木本植物是原野的重要结构成分，在演替过程中，木本植物在群落结构中起主导作用。老田中树木的存在和高度可以影响群落中其他物种的持久性或入侵。然而，尽管它们很重要，但对最初的木质殖民者入侵和表现的控制却鲜为人知。本研究将利用长期详实的演替数据库，分析木本植物入侵老田的时空格局。为了了解这些模式，将进行现场实验，以研究在生命周期再生阶段运行的机制。将确定种子捕食、幼苗食草和植物-植物相互作用在老田木本植物种群调节中的相对作用。模式与过程的整合是理解生态群落的关键。在这项研究中，这一点尤为重要，因为长期模式和过程都发生在同一部位。

Woody plants are important structural components of old fields, which come to dominate and define much of community structure during succession. The presence and stature of trees in old fields can affect persistence or invasion of other species in the community. In spite of their importance, however, the controls on invasion and performance of the initial woody colonizers are little known. This study will exploit a long and detailed data base on succession in order to analyze temporal and spatial patterns of invasion of old fields by woody plants. In order to understand these patterns, field experiments to investigate mechanisms operating at the regeneration phase of the life cycle will be performed. The relative role of seed predation, seedling herbivory, and plant-plant interactions in regulating woody plant populations in old fields will be determined. The integration of pattern and process is critical to an understanding of ecological communities. It is especially powerful in this study because both the long-term pattern and the process occur at the same site.