U.S.-Italy Dissertation Enhancement Research: Long Term Effects of Elevated CO2 on Ecophysiology and Distribution Pattern of Evergreen and Deciduous Tree Species

这个为期两年的奖项将支持圣地亚哥州立大学的Cathlyn Stylinski与意大利佛罗伦萨CNR农业气象和农业环境分析研究所的Franco Miglietta博士合作进行的关于快速上升的二氧化碳浓度对陆地生态系统影响的论文研究。研究的主要目的是探讨CO2浓度升高对常绿和冬季落叶栎树的气体交换、水分关系和分布格局的长期影响。论文项目将在意大利托斯卡纳的一个丰富的混合橡树林社区中进行，那里的天然二氧化碳春季已经丰富了几个世纪或更长时间的二氧化碳浓度。二氧化碳弹簧提供了一个机会，可以比较自然富集的群落与以前在受控环境中使用幼苗和树苗的短期操作的影响，并观察不同时间尺度和空间尺度上的变化。这项研究将受益于意大利二氧化碳弹簧研究所的工作，以及首席研究员关于二氧化碳升高和气候变化对加利福尼亚、南非、澳大利亚、智利和地中海盆地等地区的地中海型生态系统的影响的工作。

This two-year award will support dissertation research on the effects of rapidly rising CO2 concentrations on terrestrial ecosystems by Cathlyn Stylinski at San Diego State University in cooperation with Dr. Franco Miglietta at the CNR Institute of Agrometeorology and Environmental Analysis for Agriculture in Florence, Italy. The main objective of the research is to investigate the long-term effects of elevated CO2 on gas exchange, water relations, and distribution patterns of evergreen and winter-deciduous oak species. The dissertation project will take place in an enriched mixed oak forest community in Tuscany, Italy, where a natural CO2 spring has enriched CO2 concentrations for centuries or longer. CO2 springs provide an opportunity to compare effects from naturally enriched communities to those from previous short-term manipulations using seedlings and saplings in controlled environments and to observe changes over different times scales and spatial scales. The research will benefit from the work of the Italian institute on Italian CO2 springs and from the Principal Investigator's work on the effects of elevated CO2 and climate change on Mediterranean-type ecosystems in such areas as California, South Africa, Australia, Chile, and the Mediterranean Basin.