Dissertation Research: Changes in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycling at Multiple Scales Across a Prairie Restoration Chronosequence

戴安娜·莱恩，伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校。近年来，生态系统修复已成为一项广泛的活动。然而，人们对修复项目在恢复土壤质量方面的成功知之甚少。这项研究的目标是：1)描述随着时间的推移恢复过程中土壤养分的变化；2)确定控制这种变化的机制。调查人员将在一个独特的25年时间序列中进行实地研究和实验，这些地点是在以前的农地上创建的Tallgras草原恢复地点。这项研究的一个重要方面是确定恢复后土壤资源的时空变异性是否增加。土壤资源的变异性是自然系统的特征，但当土壤用于农业时，变异性可能会降低。这项研究的结果将提高对修复的功能后果的理解。此外，这些结果将对理解干扰后植物-土壤反馈的发展具有更广泛的意义。

Diana Lane, University of Illinois, Chicago. Ecosystem restoration has become a widespread activity in recent years. Little is known, however, about the success of restoration projects in restoring soil quality. The objectives of the research are 1) to characterize changes in soil nutrients as restoration proceeds over time, and 2) to determine the mechanisms that control such changes. The investigators will conduct field studies and experiments across a unique 25-year chronosequence of tallgrass prairie restoration sites that were created on former agricultural land. An important aspect of this research is to determine whether the temporal and spatial variability of soil resources increase following restoration. Variability in soil resources is characteristic of natural systems but may decrease when soils are used for agriculture. Results from this study will improve understanding of the functional consequences of restoration. In addition, these results will have broader implications for understanding the development of plant-soil feedbacks following disturbance.