OPUS: Trophic Interactions, Plant Quality, and the Integration of Above and Belowground Processes

OPUS：营养相互作用、植物质量以及地上和地下过程的整合

• 批准号: 1144922
• 负责人: Mark Hunter
• 金额: $ 18.52万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-06-01 至 2014-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1144922&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: OPUS; Trophic; Interactions; Plant; Quality

Plants, animals, and microbes vary in features such as their physical structure and their chemistry. This kind of variation in important because it influences how organisms interact with each other and how they affect the environment around them. Plants are a good example of this because they vary dramatically in their structure and in the chemistry of their tissues. This is why, for example, humans can eat corn but not oak leaves. Variation in plant quality determines what tissues can be eaten and by whom. All animals and microbes on land either consume plant tissues or consume other organisms that do. Consequently, variation in the quality of plant tissue is central to ecological processes on land. Plant quality can influence two kinds of ecological processes. First, plant chemistry influences the growth and abundance of herbivores and predators. Second, plant chemistry influences the rate at which nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus become available in the soil. Therefore, plant chemistry links processes above ground (like herbivory) with processes below ground (like nutrient availability). A critical point here is that these links are dynamic. When herbivores chew leaves, leaf chemistry changes, influencing how nutrients become available in soil. Conversely, soil nutrients influence the chemistry of plants and therefore interactions between herbivores and predators. These are key pathways of feedback that link together ecological processes above and below ground. The proposed work will integrate over 25 years of research on this topic by the PI. By synthesizing and integrating work across many environments (forests, prairie, deserts, agricultural fields), the PI will help to unify studies of ecological processes above and below ground, and examine common features among habitats. A new synthetic framework will be developed for future work that links ecological processes at different scales.The synthesis will be published in volumes broadly accessible to researchers and students of ecology. Links will be emphasized to issues of societal importance including crop pest management, invasive species management, and conservation biology. New courses will be developed for graduate and undergraduate students and workshops will foster participation by under-represented groups.

植物、动物和微生物的物理结构和化学等特征各不相同。 这种变化很重要，因为它影响生物体之间的相互作用以及它们如何影响周围的环境。 植物就是一个很好的例子，因为它们的结构和组织的化学成分差异很大。 例如，这就是为什么人类可以吃玉米但不能吃橡树叶。 植物质量的变化决定了哪些组织可以被食用以及被谁食用。 陆地上的所有动物和微生物要么消耗植物组织，要么消耗其他生物体。 因此，植物组织质量的变化是陆地生态过程的核心。 植物质量可以影响两种生态过程。 首先，植物化学影响食草动物和捕食者的生长和丰富度。其次，植物化学会影响土壤中氮和磷等养分的利用率。 因此，植物化学将地上过程（如食草）与地下过程（如养分利用率）联系起来。 这里的关键点是这些链接是动态的。 当食草动物咀嚼叶子时，叶子的化学成分会发生变化，从而影响土壤中养分的利用方式。 相反，土壤养分影响植物的化学成分，从而影响食草动物和捕食者之间的相互作用。 这些是将地上和地下生态过程联系在一起的关键反馈途径。 拟议的工作将整合 PI 超过 25 年的关于该主题的研究。 通过综合和整合多种环境（森林、草原、沙漠、农田）的工作，PI 将有助于统一地上和地下生态过程的研究，并检查栖息地之间的共同特征。 将为未来的工作开发一个新的综合框架，将不同尺度的生态过程联系起来。该综合报告将以多卷形式出版，供生态学研究人员和学生广泛使用。 将强调与具有社会重要性的问题的联系，包括农作物病虫害管理、入侵物种管理和保护生物学。 将为研究生和本科生开发新课程，并举办研讨会以促进代表性不足群体的参与。