MAB: Comparison and Management of Montane Ecosystems in the Peninsular Range of the Californias

该项目将继续并扩大对加州生物地理省半岛山脉类似但地理上孤立的半干旱山地生态系统的比较研究。墨西哥下加利福尼亚州的国家圣佩德罗马蒂尔公园(SPM)和Mt.加州南部的圣哈辛托州立公园(SJ)在20世纪经历了截然不同的管理制度。SJ自1900年以来一直实行灭火政策，自1930年以来一直禁止饲养家畜；相比之下，SPM的野火仍未得到控制，但牲畜放牧强度极高。该项目将评估这两个生态系统不同管理战略的结果。将继续记录这两个地区过去和现在的人类使用情况，重建欧洲开发之前这两个地区可能的植被模式(基于18世纪末西班牙传教士时期的日记)，以及完善这两个地区的计算机化地理信息系统。研究人员将确定这两个地区的海拔、纬度和经度梯度，并将利用卫星遥感数据重建地区火灾历史。这项研究将有助于了解对这些重要生境的生物多样性和可持续发展的控制，并可能有助于分析全球环境变化的可能性。

This project will continue and expand a comparative study of similar, but geographically isolated, semi-arid montane ecosystems in the Peninsular Ranges within the Californian Biogeographic Province. The Parque Nacional San Pedro Martir (SPM) in Baja California, Mexico, and the Mt. San Jacinto State Park (SJ) in southern California have experienced profoundly different management regimes during the 20th century. SJ has been subject to a fire suppression policy since 1900 and to an exclusion of domestic livestock since 1930; in contrast, wildfires remain uncontrolled in SPM but livestock grazing intensity is extremely high. The project will evaluate the result of the differing management strategies on these two ecosystems. Included will be continuing documentation of past and current human use of the two areas, reconstruction of the probable vegetation patterns of the sites prior to European exploitation (based on diaries from the Spanish mission period of the late 18th century), and perfection of computerized geographic information systems for the two areas. The researchers will characterize elevational, latitudinal and longitudinal gradients in both areas and will utilize satellite remote sensing data to reconstruct regional fire histories. The research will provide for an understanding of the controls of biodiversity and of sustainable development in these important habitats and may be of use in analyzing the probable of global environmental change.