PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

这个国家科学基金会少数民族博士后奖学金将研究土地使用的影响，生态限制，在里奥Abiseo国家公园，秘鲁热带山地森林恢复。 在这里，几个世纪以来的牲畜放牧和焚烧，引进异国情调的非洲草以改善放牧，以及温度变化，导致了森林-草原边界的前进和后退。 然而，机制控制森林-草交错带的位置在这一景观仍然知之甚少。 在这项研究中，环境历史数据，观察自然更新监测，实验操作将一起被用来测试的假设，在火灾和放牧排斥的条件下，海拔和草种相互作用，以控制率和模式的森林恢复在本地高山和异国情调的基库尤为主的草原。 通过研究这些瓶颈是否可以克服，该项目将揭示在热带山区，同时发生的生态过程在调节区域森林动态中的作用，从而揭示植被对气候变化的潜在反应。杨在地理环境系工作.& 德克萨斯大学在拉丁美洲地理学方面有很强的研究传统。 它设有内蒂李本森拉丁美洲收藏和植物资源中心，都与重要的材料从秘鲁。 该研究员还可利用东道部门的环境信息系统实验室。 杨博士自1980年代以来一直在秘鲁进行学术和咨询研究。 他的研究重点是地理学、生态学和秘鲁的保护。在景观和气候变化的背景下，除了对草-树植被变化理论做出贡献外，该项目还将对保护区管理、恢复、气候变化和生态系统服务产生深远影响。 秘鲁？世界上最潮湿的山地森林？安第斯-亚马逊河流域是安第斯-亚马逊河流域的主要生物多样性热点，是安第斯-亚马逊河流域长期环境可持续性的组成部分。 对公园内外当代资源利用的驱动因素进行评估，将有助于重新评估该地区保护面临的威胁，并提出与土地利用和经济发展有关的实用政策建议。 通过评价最有希望的森林恢复方法和物种，该项目将为土地管理者提供恢复退化土地的实用指南。 实验操作将可能表明物种对全球变暖的具体反应，以及这些森林和关键物种作为气候变化指标的适宜性。 最后，了解控制草原树木生长的因素，对于评估生态系统服务（如水调节）对不同土地使用遗产的敏感性将非常重要。的专业知识，在土地利用和全球变化，扩大研究员？的实验方法的知识，并提高她的分析能力。 第一，博士后培训将使研究员能够继续研究人为干扰对热带山区森林的影响，但研究地点是一个偏远地区，尽管该地区在全世界具有养护重要性，但却很少受到关注。 第二，实地研究将使研究员能够设计和进行一套必要的实验，以测试历史上土地使用对森林动态的影响。 第三，从该项目获得的数据将为今后的研究提供基础，比较墨西哥、秘鲁和其他地方类似环境中退化景观的森林恢复情况。 除了提供创新和重要的研究贡献，NSF少数民族博士后奖学金将提高研究员？在一个主要的研究机构获得终身教职的资格。

This National Science Foundation Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship will examine land use effects on, and ecological limits to, tropical montane forest recovery in Río Abiseo National Park, Peru. Here, centuries of livestock grazing and burning, introduction of exotic African grasses for improved pasturing, and temperature variation have resulted in a patchwork mosaic of advancing and receding forest-grassland boundaries. However, the mechanisms controlling forest-grass ecotone location across this landscape remain poorly understood. In this study, environmental history data, observations from natural regeneration monitoring, and experimental manipulations will together be used to test the hypothesis that under conditions of fire and grazing exclusion, elevation and grass species interact to control rates and patterns of forest recovery within native alpine and exotic kikuyu-dominated grasslands. By investigating whether or not these bottlenecks can be overcome, this project will reveal the role of co-occurring ecological processes in mediating regional forest dynamics, and hence potential vegetation response to climate variability, on tropical mountains.The Fellow will perform her research at the University of Texas at Austin, under the sponsorship of Dr. Kenneth R. Young in the Department of Geography & the Environment. The University of Texas has a strong research tradition in Latin American geography. It houses the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection and Plant Resources Center, both with significant materials from Peru. The Fellow will also benefit from access to the Environmental Information Systems Laboratory in the host department. Dr. Young has conducted academic and consulting research in Peru since the 1980s. His research focuses on the biogeography, ecology, and conservation of Peru?s humid eastern montane forests in the context of landscape and climatic change. In addition to contributing to theory on grass-tree vegetation shifts, this project will have far-reaching implications for protected areas management, restoration, climate change, and ecosystem services. Peru?s humid montane forests, the world?s leading biodiversity hotspot, are integral to the long-term environmental sustainability of the Andean-Amazon basin. An assessment of the factors driving contemporary resource use within and outside the park will serve to re-evaluate threats to conservation in this region and to generate practical policy recommendations related to land use and economic development. By evaluating the most promising methods and species for forest restoration, this project will supply land managers with practical guidelines for degraded lands rehabilitation. Experimental manipulations will potentially indicate species-specific responses to global warming, as well as the suitability of these forests and key species as indicators of climate change. Lastly, an understanding of the factors controlling tree establishment in grasslands will be important for assessing the sensitivity of ecosystem services, such as water regulation, to distinct land-use legacies.The training objectives are to enhance the Fellow?s expertise in land use and global change, expand the Fellow?s knowledge of experimental methods, and improve her analytical skills. First, postdoctoral training will allow the Fellow to continue studying the influence of anthropogenic disturbance on tropical mountain forests, but in a remote region that has received little attention despite its worldwide conservation importance. Second, field research will allow the Fellow to design and conduct a suite of experiments needed to test historical land use effects on forest dynamics. Third, data acquired from this project will provide the foundation for future research comparing forest recovery across degraded landscapes in Mexico, Peru and similar environments elsewhere. In addition to providing innovative and important research contributions, an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Fellowship will improve the Fellow?s qualifications for a tenure track faculty appointment at a major research institution.