US-South Africa Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Project: Pattern and Process of Woody Community Structure in the Kruger National Park

该奖项提供资金，以提高加布里埃拉布西尼的博士学位。论文研究，这是集中在开发一个复杂的因素和过程控制树木覆盖模式的热带稀树草原生态系统及其周围克鲁格国家公园，南非的生态模型。这项研究的主要贡献将是考虑这些现象在更精细的空间尺度比以前尝试。目前利用遥感数据对非洲木本植被进行的研究分辨率较低（1公里），因此往往低估了较小的树木和灌木的数量。这对于理解生态系统动态、树木-草关系以及植物、气候、土壤特性和稀树草原系统特征扰动之间的复杂相互作用具有重要意义。该项目将通过开发高分辨率的树木覆盖图，然后使用建模来研究在景观尺度上驱动模式的过程，从而提高我们对自然和人类影响地区稀树草原群落结构的理解。 该项目将通过促进与南非杰出科学家的有意义的合作，并通过共享数据，利用互补的生态和分析技能，以及共同撰写合作出版物，加强研究人员Bucini的论文研究。对于Bucini来说，这将是她科学发展的宝贵经验，促进她对热带稀树草原生态系统的熟悉和理解，导致高质量的跨学科出版物，并发展长期的科学伙伴关系和合作。 该项目还将帮助建立长期的科学网络，并加强科罗拉多州立大学自然资源生态实验室和克鲁格国家公园科学服务之间未来工作的连通性。

This award provides funds to enhance Gabriela Bucini's Ph. D. dissertation research, which is focused on developing an ecological model of the complex factors and processes controlling tree cover patterns in savannas ecosystems in and around Kruger National Park, South Africa. The major contribution of this research will be to consider these phenomena at much finer spatial scales than have previously been attempted. Existing studies of woody vegetation from remotely sensed data for Africa are at relatively coarse resolution (1 km) and so have tended to underestimate the number of smaller trees and shrubs. This has important consequences for understanding ecosystem dynamics, tree-grass relationships, and the complex interactions between plants, climate, soil characteristics, and perturbation that characterize savanna systems. This project will enhance our understanding of savanna community structure in natural and human-affected areas by developing a high-resolution tree cover map and then using modeling to examine processes that drive the patterns at landscape scales. The project will enhance the dissertation research of investigator Bucini by facilitating meaningful collaboration with prominent scientists in South Africa and through sharing of data, tapping into complementary ecological and analytical skills, and co-writing collaborative publications. For Bucini, this will be a valuable experience in her scientific development, promoting her familiarity with and understanding of tropical savanna ecosystems, leading to high-quality interdisciplinary publications, and developing long-term scientific partnerships and collaborations. The project will also help build long-term scientific networks and enhance connectivity for future work between the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University and Kruger National Park Scientific Services.