Land-Use Politics, Disturbance, and Biodiveristy in the Indian Aravalli

环境保护进入了一个剧变的时代。远离人类影响的生态系统曾经被认为是原始而稳定的，但人们越来越认识到它正在经历不可预测的变化。与此同时，长期以来以失衡为特征的人为干扰制度已被证明可以提高生态系统的稳定性和生产力。因此，传统的保护模式——认为“原始”和将自然与人类活动隔离是维持生物多样性所必需的——受到了质疑。在全球生物多样性迅速减少的时候，这给环境科学提出了一个问题。同样，当利益相关者群体为争夺资源而发生冲突时，控制权随之瓦解，单一法律催生了多种土地用途。这种土地利用的变化通常会导致土地覆盖和植物生物多样性的变化。民粹主义者为控制资源而进行的竞争，远不是一种一成不变地减少物种多样性的力量，而是可能导致充满活力的景观，形成一片片独特而多样的生态群落。本研究旨在探讨环境政治、生态干扰与植物生物多样性之间的关系。研究人员假设，当对环境资源（森林或牧场）的民粹主义要求导致异质性管理时，结果将是斑块形式的生态干扰。因此，充满冲突的社会政治环境可能会加强而不是破坏生物多样性，尽管可能会以牺牲本地物种为代价来支持入侵物种的入侵。利用印度拉贾斯坦邦的一个案例研究，这组科学家将使用卫星图像分析、生物多样性调查和利益相关者调查来绘制资源使用者的相互冲突的需求和具有重要生态意义的植物物种的分布。这个跨学科团队包括来自地理学、生态学和动物学的研究人员，这项工作涉及印度和美国机构之间的密切合作。从经验上看，该项目将提供Aravalli地区生物多样性变化的第一个系统视图，该地区形成了一个特有物种的仓库，也是北部和西部广大地区重要的水和营养输入来源。从概念上讲，这项研究将为政治斗争、国家权力和土地覆盖变化之间的关系提供见解。该项目将为研究生提供教育和培训机会，并将加强国际合作。

Environmental conservation has entered an era of upheaval. Ecosystems far from human impact, once thought to be pristine and stable, are increasingly understood to undergo unpredictable changes. Meanwhile, regimes of human disturbance, long characterized as out of balance, have been shown to enhance ecosystem stability and productivity. As a result, traditional conservation models, which hold that "pristinity" and the enclosure of nature from human activity are required to maintain biodiversity, have been called into question. This poses a problem for environmental science at a time when global biodiversity is in rapid decline. Similarly, where groups of stakeholders engage in conflict over resources, dissolution of control ensues, with multiple land uses emerging from monolithic laws. Such variation in land use commonly leads to variation in land cover and floral biodiversity. Far from being a force that invariably reduces species diversity, populist contests for control of resources may lead to dynamic landscapes, with patches of distinct and diverse ecological communities. This research project explores the relationships among environmental politics, ecological disturbance, and floral biodiversity. The investigators hypothesize that when populist demands for access to environmental resources (forests or pasture) lead to heterogeneous management, the result will be patchy forms of ecological disturbance. Conflict-laden sociopolitical conditions therefore may enhance, rather than undermine, biodiversity, though potentially by favoring the encroachment of invasive species at the expense of native ones. Using a case study from Rajasthan India, the researchers will use satellite image analysis, biodiversity surveys, and stakeholder surveys to map the conflicting demands of resource users and the distribution of ecologically significant plant species. The interdisciplinary team includes researchers from geography, ecology, and zoology, and the work involves close collaboration between Indian and U.S. institutions.Empirically, the project will provide a first systematic- view of regional biodiversity change in the Aravalli, an area that forms a storehouse of endemic species and a crucial source of water and nutrient inputs for the vast areas to the north and west. Conceptually, the research will offer insights into the relationship between political struggle, state power, and land-cover change. The project will provide educational and training opportunities for graduate students, and it will increase international collaboration.