CNH: Linking Livestock Markets and Grazing Practices with the Nutritional Ecology of Grasses and Locusts Under Alternative Property Rights Regimes

最近的研究表明，在中国的一个草原上，过度放牧牲畜降低了草的氮含量，这导致了蝗虫数量的增加，可能导致蝗虫群。该提案将测试这一现象是否也适用于澳大利亚和西非的相关蝗虫物种，并将这三个截然不同地区的放牧做法和蝗群与经济和社会政策联系起来。三位生物学家和三位社会科学家将合作回答：(1)昆虫-营养关系和牲畜放牧策略如何相互作用，影响粮食价格、粮食安全和牧场退化？(2)产权制度如何影响社会对过度放牧和蝗灾之间的联系作出反应的适应能力？由于市场力量和蝗群都是远距离运作的，这些影响很可能是全球性的。蝗灾对粮食安全造成毁灭性影响，影响作物和牲畜产量。该提案旨在制定新的、可持续的战略，以了解和管理蝗灾，并考虑生态、农业和经济系统之间的反馈。通过与农业机构的合作，研究结果将直接转化为管理和政策建议。该项目还将加强国际科学合作，培养本科生和研究生，并为K-12学生和教师制定多媒体外展计划。

Research has recently shown that overgrazing of livestock in a grassland in China lowered the nitrogen content of the grasses and that this caused a rise in the abundance of a locust likely to lead to locust swarms. This proposal will test whether this is also true for related species of locust in Australia and western Africa, and link both grazing practices and locust swarms to economics and social policy in the three contrasting regions. Three biologists and three social scientists will team up to help answer: (1) How do insect-nutrient relations and livestock grazing strategies interact to affect food prices, food security, and rangeland degradation? (2) How do property rights regimes affect the adaptive capacity of societies to respond to the link between overgrazing and locust outbreaks? Because both market forces and locust swarms operate over long distances, these effects are likely to be global. Locust outbreaks have had devastating effects on food security, impacting crop and livestock yields. This proposal aims to develop new, sustainable strategies to understand and manage locust outbreaks, accounting for feedbacks among ecological, agricultural, and economic systems. Results will be translated directly into management and policy recommendations through collaborations with agricultural agencies. The project will also strengthen international scientific collaboration, train undergraduate and graduate students, and develop a multi-media outreach program for K-12 students and teachers.