Testing the effects of productivity, grazing and drought on grassland plant diversity

我研究的长期目标是了解是什么控制了草原植物多样性，以及植物多样性如何影响草原生态系统功能。考虑到世界各地草原的重要性以及气候变化、过度放牧和生境丧失等影响草原的压力因素，必须为优化土地管理提供信息。我在探索基金申请中提出的短期目标旨在确定生产力、放牧和干旱对温带草原生物多样性和植物性状-生态系统功能关系的影响。我的研究的一个新的方面将是将当地的研究目标嵌入两个国际研究网络，HerbDivNet和DroughtNet。我将在草地生态系统上操纵生产力、放牧和干旱，梳理草本植物多样性的精细尺度和景观格局，以：（1）测试生产力如何影响草地群落的α和β多样性;（2）确定草地类型是否影响植物生物量和草本物种丰富度之间的关系，有和没有放牧;以及（3）测试通过雨遮棚减少水可用性对温带草原植物群落和生态系统水平过程的影响。

The long-term goal of my research is to understand what controls plant diversity in grasslands and how plant diversity affects grassland ecosystem function. Considering the importance of grasslands worldwide and the stressors that affect grasslands, such as climate change, over-grazing and habitat loss, it is critical to provide information for optimal land management. The short-term goals that I propose within my Discovery Grant application are designed to determine the effects of productivity, grazing and drought on temperate grassland biodiversity and plant trait-ecosystem function relationships. A new dimension to my research will be to embed local research objectives within two international research networks, HerbDivNet and DroughtNet. I will manipulate productivity, grazing and drought on grassland ecosystems, and tease apart fine-scale and landscape patterns in herbaceous plant diversity to: (1) test how productivity affects alpha and beta diversity of grassland communities; (2) determine whether grassland type influences the relationship between plant biomass and herbaceous species richness with and without grazing; and (3) test the effects of reducing water availability through rainout shelters on temperate grassland plant communities and ecosystem-level processes.