CAREER: Large-scale nitrogen cycles and underrepresented groups: A plan for advancement

氮是地球上最重要的资源之一，影响着从粮食生产到全球气候系统的一切。该项目将使用天然存在的氮（15 N）和氧的同位素来检查从沙漠到温带雨林的一系列陆地生态系统中氮循环的控制。现场和实验室实验将用于测试是否可以使用15 N的富集来量化氮转化为气态形式，这是氮循环的一部分，特别难以在大空间尺度上测量。这些实验的结果将用于参数化和改进现有的全球氮循环模型，最终目标是开发新的方法来研究大空间尺度的陆地氮循环。这项工作对理解氮在气候变化中的作用具有影响，因为氮对二氧化碳吸收的影响，以及一氧化二氮天然来源的重要性，一氧化二氮是一种含氮分子，是比二氧化碳更有效的温室气体。种族和文化多样性的学生将积极参与拟议的研究。PI是两个项目的校内顾问：生态教育，多样性和可持续性战略（SEEDS）和EnvironMentors。这些方案的使命是通过刺激和培养代表性不足群体的兴趣的机会，使生态专业多样化和发展。SEEDS和EnvironMentors的学生将参与这项研究，从而促进本科和高中两级的知识/文化协同作用。未来劳动力的进一步发展将导致一名博士后研究员，两名研究生和五名本科生参与这项研究。

Nitrogen is one of the most important resources on Earth, affecting everything from food production to the global climate system. This project will use naturally occurring isotopes of nitrogen (15N) and oxygen to examine controls on nitrogen cycling across an array of terrestrial ecosystems ranging from desert to temperate rainforest. Field and laboratory experiments will be used to test whether enrichment of 15N can be used to quantify conversion of nitrogen to a gaseous form, a part of the nitrogen cycle that has been particularly difficult to measure at large spatial scales. Results of these experiments will be used to parameterize and improve an existing model of the global nitrogen cycle, with the ultimate goal of developing new ways to study terrestrial nitrogen cycles at large spatial scales. This work has implications for understanding the role of nitrogen in climate change because of the influence of nitrogen on the uptake of carbon dioxide and because of the importance of natural sources of nitrous oxide, a nitrogen-containing molecule that is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Ethnically and culturally diverse students will be actively engaged in the proposed research. The PI is the on-campus (UC Davis) advisor to two programs: Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) and EnvironMentors. The mission of these programs is to diversify and advance the profession of ecology through opportunities that stimulate and nurture the interest of underrepresented groups. Students in SEEDS and EnvironMentors will be engaged in this research, thereby promoting intellectual/cultural synergism at both undergraduate and high-school levels. Additional development of the future workforce will result from involvement of a postdoctoral researcher, two graduate students, and five undergraduates in this research.