Doctoral Dissertation Research: Reconstructing Amazonian Ecological History: How Humans and Natural Events Influence the Vegetation Structure in the Peruvian Amazon Floodplain

博士论文研究：重建亚马逊生态历史：人类和自然事件如何影响秘鲁亚马逊洪泛区的植被结构

• 批准号: 0327293
• 负责人: Miguel Pinedo-Vasquez
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Columbia University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-08-01 至 2006-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0327293&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Reconstructing; Amazonian

Recent research in landscape ecology and human geography has identified the history of land use, natural disturbance, and persistent environmental conditions as the three primary determinants of vegetation structure in the landscape. In temperate and tropical forests, past land use appears to determine contemporary vegetation more effectively than do environmental factors. These research results need to be tested in highly dynamic regions, yet no study has focused on the persistence of the effects of land-use history in areas where exposure to frequent disturbance might amplify or minimize human impacts. To begin this avenue of investigation, this doctoral dissertation project will reconstruct and analyze the impact of human land use and river history in the seasonally flooded Muyuy-Panguana region of the Peruvian Amazon, where the periodic disturbance conditions imposed by river erosion and deposition interact with land uses. Because the study site has experienced a variety of land-use histories linked to economic booms based on agricultural and extractive products from the 1940s to the 1980s and has been physically transformed by the floods and meanders of the Amazon, it consists of a patchwork of landscapes representing an ideal laboratory for such studies. This project seeks to (1) document the history of land-use and land-cover change using historical records, oral histories, satellite images and air photographs, (2) sample contemporary vegetation through floristic surveys of the site, and (3) reconstruct the history of river dynamic through archival records and remote sensing images. These methods will be used to explain the relationship between Muyuy-Panguana's history and its present vegetation cover. Exploiting recent developments in geographically indexed databases and multivariate analysis techniques, the project's integrated analysis of qualitative and quantitative data should determine a causal relationship between present forest structure and the histories of the landscape.The project will test models for conservation and landscape ecology in many regions exposed to natural disturbance and changing land use, including the Amazon floodplain. The anticipated results will have several broad impacts. First, the remote sensing analysis needed for this research will produce maps and geographic databases useful for further scientific research and conservation planning in the Amazon region. Second, understanding the combined effects of human and natural disturbance will address the resilience of tropical environments. Finally, by integrating the intellectual perspectives and participation of rural community members, the project will fulfill a social role in Muyuy-Panguana and better inform local and international policy makers about strategies for conservation and management of the Amazon forest. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.

景观生态学和人类地理学的最新研究确定了土地使用，自然干扰和持续环境条件的历史，是景观中植被结构的三个主要决定因素。 在温带和热带森林中，过去的土地使用似乎比环境因素更有效地确定当代植被。 这些研究结果需要在高度动态的区域进行测试，但是在暴露于频繁的干扰可能会扩大或最大程度地减少人类影响的地区，没有研究重点是土地使用历史的持续存在。 为了开始这一调查途径，该博士学位论文项目将在秘鲁亚马逊的季节性洪水泛滥的Muyuy-panguana地区重建和分析人类土地使用和河流历史的影响，在那里，河流侵蚀和沉积与土地用途相互作用所施加的周期性干扰条件。 由于研究地点经历了与1940年代至1980年代的农业和提取产品相关的各种土地利用历史，并由亚马逊的洪水和蜿蜒的人进行了物理转化，因此它由代表此类研究的理想实验室的景观斑点组成。 该项目旨在（1）使用历史记录，口述历史，卫星图像和空气照片，（2）通过该网站的植物调查进行当代植被进行采样，以及（3）通过档案记录和遥感图像重建河流动态的历史。 这些方法将用于解释Muyuy-Panguana的历史与目前的植被覆盖之间的关系。 该项目对定性和定量数据的综合分析剥削了地理索引数据库和多变量分析技术的最新发展，应确定当前森林结构与景观历史之间的因果关系。该项目将测试许多区域的保护模型，用于在许多区域进行自然干扰和改变土地使用，包括Amazon Flayplain，包括Amazon Flayplain。 预期的结果将产生一些广泛的影响。 首先，本研究所需的遥感分析将产生地图和地理数据库，可用于亚马逊地区的进一步科学研究和保护计划。 其次，了解人类和自然障碍的综合作用将解决热带环境的弹性。 最后，通过整合农村社区成员的智力观点和参与，该项目将在Muyuy-Panguana中扮演社会角色，并更好地将亚马逊森林的保护和管理策略告知当地和国际决策者。 作为博士学位论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生能够建立强大的独立研究职业。