LTER: Long Term Ecological Research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest

近年来，对森林生态系统进行长期研究的必要性明显加快。提供木制品和清洁水的传统利益已扩大到包括气候缓解、生物多样性保护以及生态和社会复原力。森林是复杂的生态系统，由长寿生物主导，在许多尺度上与邻近的生态系统高度相连。哈伯德·布鲁克实验森林的长期研究重点是阔叶林的生态和管理，重点是了解干扰在森林生态系统如何工作中的作用。随着长期研究中出现意想不到的观察，这项研究不断演变，提出了只有通过持续的长期研究才能解决的问题。在这一最新阶段的研究中将探索的最新惊喜是：1)一些树种的海拔分布发生了意想不到的变化，这些树种意外地向下迁移，而不是像预期的那样随着气温上升而向上迁移；(2)过去10年中植物的用水量突然增加；(3)自20世纪70年代以来，一些鸟类、火蜥蜴、毛虫和甲虫的用水量显著下降。哈伯德布鲁克研究的长期性使研究人员能够与利益相关者建立深厚的关系。这些关系也在发展，研究人员将使它们多样化，以增加代表不足的群体的参与。具体地说，他们将使研究的视角更具包容性和整体性，并将招募新的参与者，使网站和社区更加多样化。本项目的主要研究主题是生态系统结构、组成和功能对干扰的长期响应。支持该项目的概念模型设想了三种主要类型的干扰，作为生态系统变化的驱动因素：变化的大气化学物质、变化的气候和变化的生物群。这些驱动因素的影响在生物地球物理模板上发挥作用，该模板包括地形、地质、土壤、植被和过去干扰历史的变化。在生态系统内，这些干扰影响着水文学、生物地球化学、植被和食物网动态的相互作用过程。概念模型正在演变，专注于景观特定地点和时间的“变化控制点”，在这些地点和时间，重大变化将开始或加速。这项研究与由四个目标驱动的更广泛的影响活动相结合：(1)与北部森林生态区的不同社区成员和环境决策者建立长期、信任的关系；(2)招募和培训下一代生态系统科学家和环境领导人；(3)在遗址和更广泛的科学界内支持多样性、公平性、包容性和反种族主义；(4)推动研究、教育和外联方面的创新。为了实现这些目标，计划了五种方法：公共和政策参与计划，科学教育和培训计划，艺术科学计划，Dei&Amp；A基础设施的开发和维护，以及使用批评生态学方法使网站的研究视角更具包容性和整体性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The need for long-term research on forest ecosystems has accelerated markedly in recent years. Traditional interests in provision of wood products and clean water have expanded to include climate mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and ecological and social resilience. Forests are complex ecosystems, dominated by long-lived organisms, and are highly connected to adjacent ecosystems at many scales. Long-term research at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest has focused on the ecology and management of hardwood forests, with a focus on understanding the role of disturbance in how forest ecosystems work. The research has continually evolved as unexpected observations emerge from long-term studies, raising questions that can only be addressed with continued long-term research. Recent surprises that will be explored in this latest phase of research are: 1) unexpected changes in the elevational distribution of some tree species that have surprisingly migrated downward instead of up-slope as would be expected in response to warming temperatures; (2) abrupt increases in water use by plants over the past 10 years, and (3) significant declines since the 1970s in some species of birds, salamanders, caterpillars, and beetles. The long-term nature of studies at Hubbard Brook has allowed researchers to build deep relationships with stakeholders. These relationships are also evolving, and researchers will diversify them to increase participation of underrepresented groups. Specifically, they will make the lens of research more inclusive and more holistic and will recruit new participants to make the site and community more diverse. The overarching research theme of this project is the long-term response of ecosystem structure, composition, and function to disturbance. The conceptual model underpinning the project envisions three principal types of disturbance acting as drivers of change in the ecosystem: changing atmospheric chemistry, changing climate, and changing biota. The effects of these drivers play out on a biogeophysical template that includes variation across the landscape in topography, geology, soils, vegetation, and history of past disturbance. Within the ecosystem, the disturbances affect the interacting processes of hydrology, biogeochemistry, vegetation, and food web dynamics. The conceptual model is evolving to focus on “control points of change” in the landscape - specific places and times where significant changes will begin or accelerate. The research is integrated with broader impacts activities driven by four goals: (1) establish long-term, trusting relationships with diverse community members and environmental decision-makers across the northern forest ecoregion; (2) recruit and train the next generation of ecosystem scientists and environmental leaders; (3) support diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism (DEI&A) within the site and broader scientific communities; and (4) drive innovations in research, education, and outreach. To achieve these goals, five approaches are planned: public and policy engagement programs, science education and training programs, an art-science program, development and maintenance of infrastructure for DEI&A, and use of a Critical Ecology approach to make the lens of the site’s research more inclusive and holistic.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.