Biotic ecosystem engineering for global recovery of drylands.

土地改造是一场紧迫的全球危机，我们必须平衡人们的直接需求和功能强大的自然系统的生态效益。包括加拿大及其他地区的沙漠和半干旱草原在内的旱地面临着巨大的压力，如干旱、入侵物种、农业和能源开发。全世界地下水位的大规模下降和干旱导致了法规和可持续发展目标，这将要求灌溉和农业旱地退役。这既是机遇，也是挑战。动植物的基本群落生态学，包括恢复，将提供解决方案。在过去的5年里，我们与自然保护协会、土地管理局和当地保护区合作，在加利福尼亚州的总共34个独立地点对整个沙漠进行了广泛的采样，采样了超过120种植物、30种传粉者和10种脊椎动物，其中包括3个濒危物种。我们现在已经做好了充分的准备，可以使用针对西南地区的标准恢复和监测计划直接测试解决方案，并加入与其他29个站点的协作网络。该计划的主要目标是(1)建立试验性的室外花园，以测试本地种子恢复和现场补救技术；(2)检查与其他本地基础物种(如灌木)的本地良性互动能力，以减轻生物多样性的丧失；(3)使用新的理论和分析来探索即使当前不在特定地点也可用于恢复的物种池。总体而言，这项研究将为土地管理者和政策制定者提供务实的证据。它还将通过确定极端环境下社区集会的关键驱动因素来推进社区生态学的基础理论。这一研究计划将把加拿大的研究人员与一个庞大的、成熟的国际研究人员网络联系起来，共同努力解决全球公认的水和环境的重大挑战。

Land transformation is a pressing global crisis, and we must balance the direct needs of people with the ecological benefits of functional natural systems. Drylands including deserts and semi-arid grasslands in Canada and beyond are subject to significant pressures such as drought, invasive species, agriculture, and energy developments. Large-scale reductions in groundwater levels worldwide and drought have lead to regulations and sustainable development goals that will require the retirement of irrigated and agricultural drylands. This is both an opportunity and a challenge. Fundamental community ecology of plants and animals including restoration will provide solutions. In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, The Bureau of Land Management, and local preserves, we have extensively sampled throughout deserts in California at a total of 34 independent sites in the last 5 years sampling over 120 plant species, 30 species of pollinators, and 10 species of vertebrate animals including 3 endangered species. We are now fully prepared to test solutions directly using a standard restoration and monitoring program for the Southwest and join a collaborative network with 29 other sites. The primary objectives of this program are to (1) setup experimental, outdoor gardens to test native seed restoration and site remediation techniques, (2) examine the capacity for positive local interactions with remaining native foundation species such as shrubs to mitigate biodiversity loss, and (3) use novel theory and analyses to explore the pool of species that can be used for restoration even if not currently present at a specific site. Collectively, this research will provide pragmatic evidence for land managers and policy makers. It will also advance fundamental theory in community ecology by identifying key drivers in community assembly for extreme environments. This research program will connect Canadian researchers with a large, established international network of researchers working together to solve the globally recognized grand challenge of water and the environment.