项目编号: | 1440485
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项目名称: | LTER: The Interacting Effects of Hydroclimate Variability and Human Landscape Modification in the Southern Appalachian Mountains |
作者: | Theodore Gragson
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承担单位: | University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
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批准年: | 2014
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开始日期: | 2015-02-01
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结束日期: | 2018-01-31
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资助金额: | USD2593333
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资助来源: | US-NSF
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项目类别: | Continuing grant
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国家: | US
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语种: | 英语
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特色学科分类: | Biological Sciences - Environmental Biology
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英文关键词: | southern appalachian mountain
; hydroclimate variability
; southern appalachian region
; human-modified landscape
; southern appalachia
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英文摘要: | The southern Appalachian Mountains are a biodiversity hotspot undergoing rapid development. They harbor unique species and assemblages, and are the source of freshwater as well as a recreational destination for human populations in nearby metropolitan areas. The total rural and urban population of the southern Appalachian region is expected to continue growing at double-digit rates for the foreseeable future, accompanied by conversion of forested land to developed areas. Forests such as those in southern Appalachia have developed under moisture-rich climates, and may be particularly susceptible to the increased droughts predicted as human demand for water increases and as climate changes. This long-term research addresses the complexity of organismal responses to increasing variability in moisture regimes, linking results of basic research to their practical implications. The Coweeta Listening Project and the Coweeta Scholyard Program translate and communicate community-relevant research results to engage society with science in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Educational activities include field-based environmental education and in-classroom support for middle school teachers and students, as well as outreach programs to land owners on the importance of riparian corridor integrity.
This project will continue to examine how hydroclimate variability and the human-modified landscape separately and interactively alter southern Appalachian Mountain ecosystem processes and biotic communities that, in turn, affect the vulnerabilities of regional socio-ecological systems. The research builds on long-term studies across numerous permanent plots within and beyond the Coweeta Basin that include over 20 years of tree demographic data representing more than 350,000 tree-years. Performance and abundance of a suite of herbaceous, invertebrate, and vertebrate species will be measured within and beyond the Coweeta Basin. A large-scale experiment will be used to assess the post-rhododendron removal rates of recovery for vegetation dynamics, soil microbial communities, soil extracellular enzyme activity, and nutrient pools and fluxes. Treatments will examine processes at the interface between terrestrial and stream ecosystems based on intensive plot-scale and extensive reach-scale measurements. Modeling of past and present hydroclimate variability will be used to establish ecosystem function and risks from local to regional geographies. Understanding the relationships between ecosystems, organisms, and their responses to the forces of hydroclimate variability and human activities on the land are essential if ecological science is to anticipate, respond to, and mitigate these changes and the associated vulnerabilities. |
资源类型: | 项目
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标识符: | http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/95175
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Appears in Collections: | 影响、适应和脆弱性 气候减缓与适应
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Recommended Citation: |
Theodore Gragson. LTER: The Interacting Effects of Hydroclimate Variability and Human Landscape Modification in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. 2014-01-01.
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