Konza Prairie LTER V: Long-Term Research on Grassland Dynamics and Global Change

拟议的研究将继续并扩大一个全面的，长期的草原生态计划在康扎草原。KNZ LTER计划已有20年历史，基础广泛，跨越多个生态水平和时空尺度。自成立以来，总体集成火灾，放牧和气候变化的基本和相互作用的因素负责高草草原的结构和功能。 KNZ的生物-生态系统过程和动态是多种限制性资源（主要是水、光和氮）时空变异的产物。 这三种干扰在异质景观中的相互作用导致了中温草原生态系统的高物种多样性和复杂的非线性行为特征。 KNZ的结果不仅与了解全球草原有关，而且与更广泛的生态问题有关，包括人为造成的全球变化。 LTER V的具体目标是扩大20多年前开始的关于火灾、放牧和气候变化的Konza LTER实验的强有力的核心，开展基于地点和地点间的研究和综合活动; 2）进一步发展对草原动态的机械和预测性理解，特别强调草原生态系统对多种全球变化因素的反应;以及3）使用KNZ结果来开发和测试一般生态理论（例如，多样性与稳定性的关系、群落的可入侵性、自上而下与自下而上的控制、土壤-植物群落反馈模式、河流连续体模式）将开始对该区域土地覆盖物变化的原因和后果进行新的研究，同时纳入社会学和生态学的观点。 短期实验的重点是应对火灾、放牧和气候状况变化的关键过程和机制，这些实验将继续是重要的组成部分。 该研究的更广泛影响包括培训下一代生态学家，促进公共教育，以及开发对全球草原生态系统的生态无害管理至关重要的知识库。

The proposed research would continue and expand a comprehensive, long-term program in grassland ecology at Konza Prairie. The 20-year old, broadly-based KNZ LTER program crosses multiple ecological levels and spatial and temporal scales. Since its inception, the overarching integrates fire, grazing and climatic variability as essential and interactive factors responsible for the structure and function of tallgrass prairie. Organism-to-ecosystem processes and dynamics at KNZ are products of spatial and temporal variability in multiple limiting resources, primarily water, light and N. The interplay of these three disturbances across a heterogeneous landscape leads to the high species diversity and complex, non-linear behavior characteristic of mesic grassland ecosystems. Results from KNZ have relevance not only for understanding grasslands worldwide, but for broader ecological issues including human-caused global change. Specific goals for LTER V are to expand the strong core Konza LTER experiments on fire, grazing and climatic variability begun over 20 years ago, with site-based and inter-site studies and synthesis activities; 2) to further develop mechanistic and predictive understanding of grassland dynamics with particular emphasis on responses of grassland ecosystems to multiple global change factors; and 3) to use KNZ results to develop and test general ecological theory (e.g., diversity-stability relationships, community invasibility, top-down vs. bottom-up controls, soil-plant community feedback models, river continuum model).New studies of the causes and consequences of land-cover change in the region will be initiated, incorporating both sociological and ecological perspectives. Short-term experiments focused on key processes and mechanisms underlying responses to changing fire, grazing and climatic regimes will continue to be essential components. Broader impacts of the research include training a future generation of ecologists, contributing to public education, and development of a knowledge base essential for the ecologically sound management of grassland ecosystems worldwide.