Resilience and Vulnerability in a Rapidly Changing North: The Integration of Physical, Biological and Social Processes

阿拉斯加EPSCoR研究基础设施改善项目的重点是在资源管理，可持续性和弹性的背景下研究耦合的自然和人类系统。 通过建立在现有优势的战略投资，阿拉斯加EPSCoR创建了一个研究计划，整合物理，生物和社会科学，以解决气候变化背景下阿拉斯加的社会生态可持续性。 该研究涉及对了解北方变化至关重要的专题：（1）永久冻土变化、变暖和退化;（2）不断变化的生物多样性和生态系统脆弱性;（3）农村社区在快速变化条件下的复原力和福祉。 一套横向活动，即一体化核心，使科学组成部分能够协同和综合。 该研究使用复杂性理论方法，因为它专注于响应扰动的动态;现有和新的数据集;以及生物信息学和创新的网络基础设施工具（例如，多年冻土研究采用了一种新的范式来检验气候不仅直接影响连续多年冻土区的多年冻土，而且通过与非连续区域的植被和火灾干扰的相互作用间接影响多年冻土的假设。 生物学研究试图首次记录阿拉斯加动植物过去、现在和未来潜在的生物地理变化的广泛模式，重点是生存物种。 这项研究涉及植物-微生物相互作用介导的渐变和突变。 社会科学部分整合了对粮食系统、机构和社交网络的研究，以描述农村土著社区如何应对气候和社会变化。 由于维持原住民的资源受到气候变化的影响，本研究从城乡迁移、社交网络和文化阻力等方面探讨了变化对人类社会结构和行为的影响。 最终，研究解决了快速的环境和社会变化对机构的影响（例如，该项目的教育和推广工作侧重于培养新一代跨学科研究人员。 学生（K-12，本科，研究生），博士后助理和初级教师接受高水平的培训和指导。 特别强调促进阿拉斯加土著人、妇女和其他在科学和技术领域代表性不足的少数民族的参与。 已建立的研究集群致力于发展整个国家的城市和农村校园的能力。 外展工作的目标是广泛的利益相关者，所有的既得利益在阿拉斯加的人力和自然资源的可持续性，从当地社区成员到私营企业和国家和联邦机构的专业人士。 这些利益相关者，反过来，有助于将研究成果应用到资源管理，政治和经济发展领域的努力。

The Alaska EPSCoR research infrastructure improvement project focuses on the study of coupled natural and human systems in the context of resource management, sustainability, and resiliency. Through strategic investments that build on existing strengths, Alaska EPSCoR creates a research program that integrates physical, biological, and social sciences to address social-ecological sustainability in Alaska within the context of climate change. The research addresses topics critical to understanding change in the North: (1) permafrost variability, warming and degradation; (2) changing biodiversity and ecosystem vulnerability; and (3) resilience and well-being of rural communities in conditions of rapid change. A set of cross-cutting activities, the Integration Core, enables synergy and synthesis of science components. The research uses complexity theory methodology because of its focus on dynamics in response to perturbations; existing and new data sets; as well as bioinformatics and innovative cyberinfrastructure tools (e.g., agent-based modeling, scenario development) to explore hypotheses about the interaction of physical, biological, and social systems under conditions of rapid change.The permafrost research uses a new paradigm to test the hypothesis that climate not only directly affects permafrost in the continuous permafrost zone, but also indirectly affects it through interactions with vegetation and fire disturbance in discontinuous zones. The biological research attempts to document, for the first time, broad patterns of past, present, and potential future bio-geographic shifts in plants and animals across Alaska, with an emphasis on subsistence species. This research addresses both gradual and abrupt changes mediated by plant-microbial interactions. The social science component integrates research on food systems, institutions, and social networks to describe how rural indigenous communities respond to climatic and social change. Since resources sustaining indigenous people are affected by climate change, the research examines the effects of change on human social structure and behavior in terms of rural-urban migrations, social networks, and cultural resistance. Ultimately the research addresses the impact of rapid environmental and social change on institutions (e.g., state and federal agencies, non-governmental bodies).The education and outreach efforts of this project focus on generating a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers. Students (K-12, undergraduate, graduate), post-doctoral associates, and junior faculty receive high-levels of training and mentoring. Particular emphasis is placed on promoting involvement of Alaska Natives, women, and other minorities underrepresented in science and technology. Established research clusters work to develop capacity throughout the State's urban and rural campuses. Outreach efforts target a broad array of stakeholders, all with vested interest in sustainability of Alaska's human and natural resources-from local community members to professionals in private business and state and federal agencies. These stakeholders, in turn, contribute to efforts that apply research findings to the realms of resource management, politics, and economic development.