SGER: Ecophysiological Consequences of Infrequent Massive Flowering of Monocarpic Bamboo Grasses (Chusquea spp.) in Temperate and Tropical South America

SGER：南美洲温带和热带地区单果竹草（Chusquea spp.）罕见大规模开花的生态生理学后果

• 批准号: 0234174
• 负责人: Guillermo Goldstein
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: University of Miami
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2002
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2002-09-01 至 2005-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0234174&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SGER; Ecophysiological; Consequences; Infrequent; Massive

Bamboo grasses are an important component of understory vegetation in subtropical and temperate forests in both Asia and the Americas and in many cases they completely dominate the lower layers of the forest. These bamboo grasses have important economic and conservation value since they play a key role in the functioning of the entire forest ecosystem and provide food and shelter to numerous native populations. Most species flower only once in their life cycle, which can last up to 120 years, and then die. When bamboo grasses flower, the flowering is highly synchronous, such that there are massive 'waves' of flowering and immediate death of the grasses, affecting large patches of forest vegetation simultaneously. These infrequent and ephemeral events have consequences in many ways for both plants and animals in the affected forests, but because these events are so rare, little is known of the consequences on forest regeneration and maintenance of native biodiversity. In late 2001, forests in southern South America started to experience massive flowering of the bamboo grasses occurring over a vast area ranging in latitude from 25 to 45 degrees S, in both subtropical forests and temperate forests. This is an opportunity to explore the importance of this large-scale and infrequent phenomenon on the maintenance of native biodiversity and forest regeneration, as well as effects on carbon and nitrogen stocks in these forests. Observations are planned in several areas along a latitudinal gradient in South America where massive flowering is occurring, with the aim of identifying how resource availability of water, light and nutrients change as a result of this phenomenon and how these changes influence the regeneration, flowering, and physiology of native species. The simultaneous change of different variables with potentially contrasting effects make it difficult to fully understand the consequences of bamboo flowering. A field experiment, where we will manipulate light and nutrient availability, will allow us to disentangle the different mechanisms resulting from this major and infrequent event. A greater understanding of the mechanisms and consequences of this infrequent flowering in bamboo and its effect on native plant processes can contribute to our ability to make informed decisions for the maintenance of native plants and animal life in native ecosystems around the world.

竹草是亚洲和美洲的亚热带和温带森林中林木植被的重要组成部分，在许多情况下，它们完全占据了森林的下层。这些竹草具有重要的经济和保护价值，因为它们在整个森林生态系统的运作中起着关键作用，并为许多本地人口提供食物和庇护所。大多数物种在其生命周期中只开花一次，可以持续长达120年，然后死亡。当竹草开花时，开花是高度同步的，因此有大量的开花和立即死亡的“波浪”，同时影响了大片森林植被。这些不频繁和短暂的事件对受影响的森林中的动植物都产生了许多影响，但是由于这些事件是如此罕见，因此几乎不知道对本地生物多样性的森林再生和维持的后果。在2001年底，南美南部的森林开始在亚热带森林和温带森林中，在纬度为25至45度的广阔区域上发生巨大的竹草开花。这是一个探索这种大规模和不经常现象对维持天然生物多样性和森林再生的重要性的机会，以及对这些森林中碳和氮库存的影响。计划在南美发生大规模开花的纬度梯度沿线的几个地区进行观察，目的是确定由于这种现象而导致的水，光和营养物质的资源可用性以及这些变化如何影响本地物种的再生，开花和生理学。具有潜在对比效果的不同变量的同时变化使得难以充分理解竹花开花的后果。我们将操纵光线和营养的实验实验，将使我们能够解散这一主要事件和不经常事件所产生的不同机制。对这种不经常开花的机制和后果有更深入的了解，其对本地植物过程的影响将有助于我们做出明智的决定，以维持世界各地的本地生态系统中的本地植物和动物生命。