Boom and bust: the role of fire and rain in driving the dynamics of seeds and rodents in arid Australia

干旱的澳大利亚环境在壮观的繁荣时期（生物生产力和多样性很高）和萧条时期（生物资源枯竭）之间摇摆不定。该项目首先概述了这个动态和复杂系统的概念模型。然后，研究降雨和火灾在推动繁荣-萧条事件中的作用，特别关注高变辛普森沙漠中的食物资源（种子）及其消费者（沙漠啮齿动物）。我们提出的观察和实验，以量化这些气候事件如何影响种子生产，种子命运，并最终的动态沙漠啮齿动物，并概述其重要性，有效管理沙漠环境。

The arid Australian environment oscillates between spectacular boom periods, when biotic productivity and diversity are high, and busts, when biotic resources are depleted. This project first outlines a conceptual model of this dynamic and complex system. It then investigates the roles of rainfall and fire in driving boom-bust events, focusing particularly on food resources (seeds) and their consumers (desert rodents) in the hyper-variable Simpson Desert. We propose observations and experiments to quantify how these climatic events affect seed production, seed fate, and ultimately the dynamics of desert rodents, and outline their importance for effective management of the desert environment.