Patterns in water flux and carbon cycle controls along land use and climate gradients

从热带稀树草原到高山带沿海拔梯度分布的生态系统中水分组分通量的控制和大小。将对基利曼哈罗进行界定，以便将这些关键过程与林分生物多样性联系起来。此外，生态系统的碳增益将根据用水情况确定，以便为植物生长和生产的模拟提供投入。土壤水分平衡和储存调节方面的表征将为理解土壤溶液化学和养分运输提供必要的信息。从密集研究地点的研究中获得的信息将总结在一个基于过程的碳和水通量模型中，该模型概括了我们对控制的理解，因为我们从干旱区移动到森林带，并在高海拔受寒冷温度影响的地区。一个嵌套的实验策略，将使我们能够包括过程变化到模型中的每个生态系统，在48个广泛的网站可能的观测的基础上。在嵌套的战略，最大的重点放在详细评价过程中的全球变化的影响最大的（6个集群网站）的上，下森林边界。我们定义的实验地点，聚集在较低的森林边界，人类活动越来越多地修改自然植被，和周围的森林边界，气候变化导致火灾频率增加。集群地点也属于12个重点地点的集合，每种生态系统类型都有一个正在调查的地点，在那里进行非常详细的过程研究（集群地点）或密集的运动。研究的长期产品将是一个林分水平的碳和水通量和年度平衡模型，可应用于景观水平的模拟山。基利曼哈罗地区。

Controls on and the magnitudes of component fluxes of water in ecosystems distributed along the elevation gradient from savanna to the alpine zone of Mt. Kilimanjaro will be defined, in order to relate these critical processes to stand level biodiversity. Additionally, carbon gain by the ecosystems will be determined in relation to water use, in order to provide input to simulations of plant growth and production. Characterization of soils in terms of the regulation of water balances and storage will provide information essential to the understanding of soil solution chemistry and nutrient transport. Information gained from the studies at intensive research sites will be summarized in a process-based carbon and water flux model, which generalizes our understanding of controls as we move from the arid zone, to the forest belt, and to the region influenced by cold temperatures at high elevation. A nested experimental strategy is employed that will allow us to include process variation into the model for each ecosystem, based on the possible observations at 48 extensive sites. Within the nested strategy, greatest emphasis is placed on detailed evaluation of processes at the upper and lower forest boundaries where global change influences are greatest (6 cluster sites). We define experimental sites that are clustered around the lower forest boundary, where anthropogenic activities increasingly modify the natural vegetation, and around the upper forest boundary, where climate change has led to increased fire frequency. Cluster sites belong also to a collection of 12 focal sites, one in each ecosystem type under investigation, where either very detailed process studies (cluster sites) or intensive campaigns are carried out. The long-term product of the research will be a stand level model for carbon and water fluxes and annual balances that may be applied in landscape level simulations for the Mt. Kilimanjaro region.