Collaborative Research: ETBC--Exploring Forest Ecosystem Response to Water Availability and the Impact on Biogeochemical and Water Cycles

这项研究的目的是确定和量化可作为云核的气溶胶的生物发生与通过改变对产生更多气溶胶的植被过程的降水模式的反馈之间的联系。该方法结合了实验、现场测量和实验室调查。每一项都代表着整个循环的一个关键组成部分：1)沿美国西南部大片地区对生物挥发性有机化合物的重要来源进行调查；2)对生物气溶胶粒子进行大气调查，这将在其中一个地点进行，其中包括对粒子进行DNA测序以确定其来源的有趣想法；3)两项实地研究，以控制水并调查对植被的影响，一项涉及对个别黄松树施加干旱并调查其VOC排放，另一项涉及实施不同水分制度以量化土壤/凋落物VOC排放的一套单独的(但在附近的)地块；4)生物冰核和云凝结核的研究。这四项研究将在涉及模型的第五项活动中联系在一起：自然气体和气溶胶排放模型(MEGAN)。这项工作的主要更广泛影响之一将通过改进国家大气研究中心(NCAR)网站上提供给更广泛的科学界的地面-大气耦合模型来实现，并能够支持未来涉及植物-云相互作用的研究。该项目还将支持NCAR和科罗拉多大学的科学倡议的多样性，让至少六名未被充分代表的本科生参与研究项目。为了将该项目的影响扩大到公共部门和K-12社区，将开发基于网络的教育材料，解释气候变化对森林生态系统的影响，并将包括来自马尼图森林观测站的实时数据。最终，这些结果将产生新的战略，用于评估区域气候变化对美国西部生态系统的影响，并通过认识到生态系统在放大或抑制进一步气候变化方面所起的作用来管理这些影响。

The study aims to identify and quantify linkages between the biogenesis of aerosols that can function as cloud nuclei and the feedback through altered precipitation patterns on vegetation processes that generate more aerosols. The approach combines experiments, field measurements and laboratory investigations. Each represents a key component of the overall cycle: 1) surveys of important sources of biogenic volatile organic compounds along a broad transect of sites in the Southwestern U.S.; 2) atmospheric surveys of biological aerosol particles, which will take place at one of the sites and include the interesting idea of DNA sequencing of particles to identify their sources; 3) two field studies to manipulate water and investigate impacts on vegetation, one involving imposition of drought in individual ponderosa pine trees and an investigation of their VOC emissions and the other on a separate (but nearby) set of plots to impose different moisture regimes to quantify the impact of moisture on soil/litter VOC emissions; 4) studies of biogenic ice nuclei and cloud condensation nuclei. These four investigations will be linked together in a fifth activity involving a model: Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN).One of the principal broader impacts of this work will occur through the improvement of a coupled surface-atmosphere model that is available to the broader scientific community from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) web site, and is capable of supporting future studies involving plant-cloud interactions. The project will also support diversity in science initiatives at NCAR and the University of Colorado by involving at least six underrepresented-group undergraduate students in the research project. To extend the impact of project into the public sector and the K-12 community, web-based educational materials will be developed that will explain the impact of climate change on the forest ecosystem, and will include real-time data from the Manitou Forest Observatory. Ultimately, the results will lead to new strategies for assessing the impact of regional climate change on ecosystems in the Western U.S. and managing those impacts through recognition of the role ecosystems play in amplifying or dampening further climate change.