LTREB RENEWAL: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Scaling up and scaling out at the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE)

肯尼亚长期围封实验（KLEE）成立于1995年，旨在研究牲畜和野生动物相互之间以及对它们共享的土地的单独和综合影响。 这种控制排除牛，野生动物和大型食草动物提供了一个独特的实验环境，以回答有关生态，保护和半干旱生态系统管理的基本和应用问题。未来五年收集的数据将加强对土壤，植物和食草动物对多年天气周期的反应的理解，重点是降雨量的变化。其他实验将确定树木密度变化的原因和后果，包括生态水文学和生态生理学研究。继续这个长期的实验是必要的，以捕捉缓慢发展的过程和年际变化，是至关重要的生态系统功能在稀树草原景观。 在全球范围内，牧场管理和生物多样性保护的目标越来越频繁地发生冲突，因为野生动物越来越依赖牧场生存。通过研究野生动物和牲畜共存的条件，该项目的结果直接为这些相互冲突的目标的和解提供了信息。这项研究吸引了来自多个机构的合作科学家，并对肯尼亚和美国学生进行研究培训。该研究地块主办来自肯尼亚，美国和其他国际合作国家的本科生研究项目和课堂访问。

The Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment (KLEE) was established in 1995 to examine the separate and combined effects of livestock and wildlife on each other and on the land they share. This controlled exclusion of cattle, wildlife, and large herbivores provides a unique experimental setting in which to answer basic and applied questions about the ecology, conservation, and management of semi-arid ecosystems. Data collected over the next five years will enhance understanding of soil, plant, and herbivore responses to multi-year weather cycles, with an emphasis on variation in rainfall. Additional experiments will determine the causes and consequences of variation in tree densities and include both eco-hydrological and eco-physiological studies. Continuation of this long-term experiment is necessary to capture the slowly-developing processes and interannual variation that are critical to ecosystem function in savanna landscapes. Globally, the goals of rangeland management and biodiversity conservation collide with increasing frequency, as wildlife become more dependent on rangeland for survival. By examining the conditions under which wildlife and livestock co-exist, results from this project directly inform a reconciliation of these conflicting goals. The study attracts collaborating scientists from multiple institutions and trains both Kenyan and US students in research. The study plots host undergraduate research projects and class visits from Kenya, the United States, and other international collaborating countries.