LTER: Land/Ocean Interactions and the Dynamics of Kelp Forest Communities

圣巴巴拉海岸LTER （SBC LTER）是一个跨学科的研究和教育项目，成立于2000年4月，旨在调查陆地和海洋过程在构建陆海边缘生态系统中的相对重要性。主要研究区域是圣巴巴拉海峡和流入该海峡的沿海流域，重点生态系统是巨大的海带森林，它们生长在整个研究区域和世界上其他温带海岸的陆海边缘界面的浅岩礁上。这里提出的主要工作重点是发展对巨型海带森林生态系统对陆地和海洋环境强迫的结构和功能反应的预测性理解。从陆地和周围海洋输送到海带森林的营养物质和有机物的数量随着气候、海洋条件和土地利用的短期和长期变化而变化。这些商品供应的变化与自然干扰相互作用，影响森林居民的丰度和物种组成及其提供的生态服务。提出的研究的首要问题是：在不同的空间和时间尺度上，非生物驱动因素如何相互作用以影响海带森林的结构和功能？为了解决这个问题，研究人员将围绕三个一般主题进行研究：(1)非生物压力和脉冲驱动因素对巨海带林氮、碳输送速率的影响；(2)关键压力和脉冲驱动因素通过养分供给和波动扰动对海带林群落结构和功能的直接和交互影响；(3)脉冲和脉冲驱动因素对海带林群落结构和功能的间接影响以及结构和功能之间的反馈。这项研究将利用各种方法，包括：(1)协调对关键非生物驱动因素和生态响应变量的长期测量；(2)旨在分离长期测量中观察到的模式的因果机制的操纵性现场实验；(3)旨在获得对无法通过操纵性实验分离的过程的机制理解的测量密集型过程研究。(4)利用建模和分析的综合方法，实现对SBC数据时空范围之外的预测，并有助于指导未来的研究方向。SBC LTER的信息管理系统将促进这些努力，该系统侧重于数据组织的完整性和保存，并向各种不同的用户提供基于网络的访问。教育和培训紧密结合到研究的各个方面。科学家/教育工作者已经成功地开发了一种多方面的、跨学科的教育和推广方法，突出并整合了SBC LTER研究人员、学生和公众的研究兴趣。这些项目包括与K-12学生和教师的积极联系、研究生和本科生培训、直接的公众宣传以及与媒体、当地非政府组织和机构的富有成效的互动。随着合作的成熟和吸引参与者和机构的更多支持，在未来六年内，外展和教育项目将继续扩大。这个跨学科的科学家小组致力于与资源管理者、决策者、利益相关者和对将研究结果应用于有关自然资源、沿海管理和土地利用的政策问题感兴趣的公众分享研究成果。

The Santa Barbara Coastal LTER (SBC LTER) is an interdisciplinary research and education program established in April, 2000 to investigate the relative importance of land and ocean processes in structuring ecosystems at the land-sea margin. The principal study area is the Santa Barbara Channel and the coastal watersheds that drain into it, and the focal ecosystem is giant kelp forests, which occur on shallow rocky reefs at the interface of the land-sea margin throughout the study area and other temperate coasts throughout the world. The major focus of the work proposed here is developing a predictive understanding of the structural and functional responses of giant kelp forest ecosystems to environmental forcing from the land and the sea. The amount of nutrients and organic matter delivered to the kelp forest from land and the surrounding ocean varies in response to short- and long-term changes in climate, ocean conditions and land use. Variation in the supply of these commodities interacts with physical disturbance to influence the abundance and species composition of the forest inhabitants and the ecological services that they provide. The overarching question of the proposed research is: How do abiotic drivers acting over different spatial and temporal scales interact to influence kelp forest structure and function?To address this question the investigators will focus research around three general themes: (1) The influence of abiotic press and pulse drivers on rates of delivery of N and C to giant kelp forests, (2) The direct and interactive effects of key press and pulse drivers on kelp forest community structure and function through the modification of nutrient supply and wave disturbance, and (3) The indirect effects of pulse and press drivers on kelp forest community structure and function and the feedbacks between structure and function. The research will take advantage of a variety of approaches that include: (1) Coordinated long-term measurements of key abiotic drivers and ecological response variables, (2) Manipulative field experiments designed to isolate the causal mechanisms underlying the patterns observed in long-term measurements, (3) Measurement-intensive process studies aimed at obtaining a mechanistic understanding of processes that cannot be isolated using manipulative experiments, and (4) Integrated synthesis using modeling and analyses that allow for predictions beyond the spatial and temporal scope of SBC data, and that help guide the direction of future research. These efforts will be facilitated by SBC LTER's information management system which focuses on data organization integrity and preservation as well as provision of web-based access to a variety of different users. Education and training are tightly integrated into all aspects of the research. The scientists/educators have successfully developed a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to education and outreach that highlights and integrates the research interests of SBC LTER investigators, students, and the general public. The programs include active links with K-12 students and teachers, graduate and undergraduate student training, direct public outreach, and productive interactions with the media, local NGOs and agencies. The outreach and education programs will continue to expand during the next six years as collaborations mature and attract additional support from participants and agencies. This interdisciplinary group of scientists are committed to sharing research findings with resource managers, decision makers, stakeholders, and the general public who are interested in applying the findings to policy issues concerning natural resources, coastal management, and land use.