Tropical Dry Forests: Remote sensing and ecological fingerprints of ecosystem succession

季节性干燥热带森林（tdf）占所有热带森林的42%，包含丰富独特的生物多样性。与热带雨林相比，该生态系统中的植物物种具有生长速度较慢、繁殖期受限、结构和生理多样性较高的特点。tdf是世界各地社区重要的生态系统服务库。据估计，仅在美洲就有近6000万人受益于它们提供的服务（如制水、授粉）。尽管它们很重要，但人们对这些生态、生物物理/水文过程及其与这些生态系统服务的联系知之甚少。******拟议研究计划的目标是填补与tdf如何应对气候变化以及随之而来的生态系统服务变化相关的关键知识空白。我的研究计划的短期目标主要集中在三个具体的研究领域：(1)藤本植物和树木的长波热红外光谱反射率表征：我建议将我们过去在叶片水平上的工作扩展到长波热红外（TIR: 7.5µm至12.5µm），探索藤本植物和树木之间的差异以及TIR反射率的控制机制；(2)量化TDF对气候变化的响应：我的工作的这一部分将旨在确定TDF是否接近高温阈值，这将影响它们的二氧化碳吸收以及它们的物候响应，使用关键变量，如CO2/H2O通量和光合有效辐射（FPAR）的分数；(3)量化藤本植物对tdf结构的影响：随着藤本植物在热带环境中越来越占主导地位，我建议使用地面激光雷达衍生技术来研究它们对不同生态演为水平的tdf结构的影响。从长远来看：我的研究项目将有助于在不同阶段的遥感与生态过程之间的联系的科学知识的二次更新。******我希望我的工作成果将有助于决策者制定成本效益高、注重结果的方法，在美洲各地保护tdf。**

Seasonally dry tropical forests (TDFs) account for 42% of all tropical forests and contain a wealth of unique biodiversity. Plant species in this ecosystem are characterized by slower growth rates, restricted reproductive episodes, and more structural and physiological diversity than found in tropical rainforests. TDFs are important reservoirs of ecosystem services for communities around the world. In the Americas, alone, it is estimated that nearly 60 million people benefit from the services that they provide (e.g. water production, pollination). Despite of their importance, little is known about these ecological, biophysical/hydrological processes and their linkages to these ecosystems' services. ******The objective of the proposed research program aims to fill key knowledge gaps related to how TDFs may respond to climate change and, in turn, the consequent shifts produced in their ecosystem services. Short-term goals of my research program focus on three specific research areas: (1) Characterization of the spectral reflectance of lianas and trees in the long-wave thermal infrared: I propose to expand our past work at the leaf level into the long-wave thermal infrared (TIR: 7.5µm to 12.5µm) to explore differences between lianas and trees and the mechanisms that control the reflectance in TIR; (2) Quantifying TDF response to climate change: This component of my work will aim to determine if TDFs are nearing high temperature thresholds that would affect their CO2 uptake as well as their phenological response using key variables such as CO2/H2O fluxes and the Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FPAR); (3) Quantifying the impact of lianas on TDFs' structure: As lianas become more dominant in tropical environments, I propose to examine - using ground LiDAR derived technologies - the impact that they have on TDFs' structure across different levels of ecological succession. Over the long-term: My research program will contribute to scientific knowledge in the nexus between remote sensing and ecological processes across different stages of secondary regeneration. ******I expect that the outcome of my work will assist policy makers in developing cost-effective, results-oriented methods for preserving TDFs across the Americas.**