Collaborative Proposal: Distribution and Dynamics of Belowground Carbon in Savannas

合作提案：稀树草原地下碳的分布和动态

• 批准号: 0742933
• 负责人: Kelly Caylor
• 金额: $ 20.83万
• 依托单位: Princeton University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-15 至 2010-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0742933&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Proposal; Distribution; Dynamics; Belowground

This project will map root and soil carbon in three dimensions at sites across a regional climate gradient in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. The Kalahari is one of the only places on Earth where this type of natural experiment can be conducted without having to worry about problems of variations in soil characteristics. This research seeks to understand 1) how the distribution of roots in the soil varies among different plant species and across large distances, and 2) how carbon found in soils changes in response to climate change at multiple timescales.Arid and semiarid regions, such as the Kalahari, cover over 40% of the Earth's land surface. Roots are an important component of the productivity and composition of these ecosystems, and play an important role in their response to climate variability. Thus, understanding the root structure of water-limited vegetation is vital to the study of the global biosphere?which includes its human inhabitant?and global carbon budgets amidst a changing climate. This research will address how belowground plant processes in water-limited ecosystems control belowground carbon dynamics under different climate conditions. The interdisciplinary nature of this research will include mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students from Botswana and the U.S., and collaborations with colleagues in Botswana. A short course on the research and related fields will be offered to high-school science teachers to encourage the discussion of plant-water interactions and active research in high school classrooms.

该项目将在博茨瓦纳卡拉哈里沙漠区域气候梯度的多个地点绘制根系和土壤碳的三维图。 喀拉哈里沙漠是地球上唯一可以进行此类自然实验而不必担心土壤特性变化问题的地方之一。本研究旨在了解 1) 不同植物种类和远距离根系在土壤中的分布如何变化，以及 2) 土壤中的碳如何随着多个时间尺度的气候变化而变化。干旱和半干旱地区，例如喀拉哈里沙漠覆盖了地球陆地面积的40%以上。根系是这些生态系统生产力和组成的重要组成部分，在应对气候变化方面发挥着重要作用。因此，了解限水植被的根部结构对于研究全球生物圈（包括人类居民）和气候变化下的全球碳预算至关重要。这项研究将解决水资源有限的生态系统中的地下植物过程如何在不同的气候条件下控制地下碳动态。这项研究的跨学科性质将包括对来自博茨瓦纳和美国的研究生和本科生的指导，以及与博茨瓦纳同事的合作。将为高中科学教师提供有关研究和相关领域的短期课程，以鼓励在高中课堂上讨论植物与水的相互作用和积极的研究。