Plant recruitment, coexistence and community assembly in developing prairie restorations

知识价值：了解物种共存仍然是生态学的一个基本目标，与生物多样性保护、资源管理和恢复等应用领域直接相关。对于草原恢复的实践者来说，了解不同的共存模式及其在发展草原中的相对重要性，对于指导有关场地准备、种植方法、入侵物种控制和干扰制度管理的恢复处方将是有价值的。该项目在堪萨斯州东部启动了一项长期的操纵性野外实验，旨在评估多种物种共存和植物群落发展模式，包括生态位分化、物种功能相似性、空间结构和初始群落状态在草原恢复发展中调节本地物种建立、多样性和物种周转的贡献。广泛影响：该项目将有助于堪萨斯大学野外站(KUFS)的发展，并补充KUFS在草原生态学方面正在进行的研究和教育活动。国际学生联合会将继续通过参加昆士兰州立大学少数族裔学生方案，促进代表不足的群体的参与，并为两名新的博士生提供培训。本科生将以学生每小时现场助理、KU独立研究人员和REU学生的身份参加。参加昆士兰州立大学生态学课程的学生和劳伦斯高中AP生物学的学生也将使用该项目。

Intellectual Merit: Understanding species coexistence continues to be a fundamental goal in ecology with direct relevance to applied fields such as biodiversity conservation, resource management and restoration. For the practitioner of prairie restoration, knowledge of the different modes of coexistence and their relative importance in developing prairies would be valuable for guiding restoration prescriptions pertaining to site preparation, planting methods, invasive species control and management of disturbance regimes. This project initiates a long-term manipulative field experiment in eastern Kansas designed to evaluate multiple modes of species coexistence and plant community development, including the contributions of niche differentiation, functional similarity of species, spatial structure and initial community states in regulating native species establishment, diversity and species turnover in developing prairie restorations.Broader Impacts: The project will contribute to the development of the University of Kansas Field Station (KUFS) and complement ongoing research and education initiatives at KUFS in grassland ecology. The PI will continue to facilitate involvement of underrepresented groups through participation in KU student minority programs and provide training for two new PhD students. Undergraduates will participate as student hourly field assistants, KU independent study researchers and REU students. The project will also be utilized by students enrolled in KU Ecology courses and by AP Biology students at Lawrence High School.