RAPID: Ecosystem Reconstruction under Climate Change Conditions following Fire

在新墨西哥州中部的塞维莱塔LTER站点的研究集中在沙漠草原和灌木群落的研究，强调生物多样性，物种相互作用和气候变化。干旱区生态系统受关键的非生物和生物驱动因素控制，特别是气候变率、火灾、植物-微生物相互作用、营养动态和食草性。2009年8月4日至5日，一场闪电引起的野火烧毁了大约3200公顷的原生沙漠草地，其中包括几个评估气候变化对奇瓦瓦沙漠生态系统潜在影响的关键长期实验。有了这笔资金，研究人员将在他们的季风降雨操纵实验中监测微生物种群和沙漠草的相互作用，以评估植物-微生物相互作用的恢复速度。他们将在未燃烧的草原上重新安置一个通量塔，并在火灾后演替期间收集有关燃烧和未燃烧草原的土壤呼吸和二氧化碳外排的更详细信息，以及他们的夜间增温和冬季降雨实验。这将提供有关沙漠生态系统如何影响温室气体排放的重要信息。更广泛的影响：气候变化可能改变全球生态系统的动态。这项研究将使研究人员能够评估系统对一种自然干扰的反应，火灾，这在未来可能会更频繁地发生。该研究利用现有的背景和基础设施来评估沙漠生态系统中的碳损失和储存。该项目将资助两名来自新墨西哥大学的本科生，并为一名新墨西哥大学研究生提供为期一年的研究助理奖学金。此外，本研究的参与者包括两名非博士学位授予机构的教员（杜鲁门州立大学的Jose Herrera和西伊利诺伊大学的Andrea Porras-Alfaro）。

Research at the Sevilleta LTER site in central New Mexico is concentrated on studies in desert grassland and shrubland communities, emphasizing biodiversity, species interactions and climate change. Aridland ecosystems are governed by key abiotic and biotic drivers, especially climate variability, fire, plant-microbe interactions, nutrient dynamics, and herbivory. On 4-5 August 2009 a lightening-caused wildfire burned approximately 3200 ha of native desert grassland, including several key long-term experiments that evaluate the potential impact of climate change on Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems. With this funding the investigators will monitor the interaction of microbial populations and desert grasses in their monsoon rainfall manipulation experiment to assess recovery rates of plant-microbial interactions. They will relocate a flux tower in unburned grassland and gather more detailed information on soil respiration and CO2 efflux in burned and unburned grasslands during post-fire succession, as well as in their nighttime warming and winter rainfall experiment. This will provide important information related to how desert ecosystems affect greenhouse gas emissions. Broader impacts: Climate change is likely to alter the dynamics of ecosystems globally. This research will allow the investigators to assess system response to a type of natural disturbance, fire, that is likely to occur more often in the future. The research takes advantage of existing background and infrastructure to assess carbon loss and storage in a desert ecosystem. The project will support two undergraduate students from UNM, a minority serving institution, as well as provide a one-year research assistantship to a UNM graduate student. In addition, participants in this research include two faculty members at non-PhD granting institutions (Jose Herrera at Truman State University and Andrea Porras-Alfaro at Western Illinois University).