Collaborative Research: Climatic and Environmental Constraints on Aboveground-Belowground Linkages and Diversity across a Latitudinal Gradient in Antarctica

合作研究：气候和环境对南极洲纬度梯度地上地下联系和多样性的限制

• 批准号: 1341429
• 负责人: Becky Ball
• 金额: $ 12.61万
• 依托单位: Arizona State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-10-01 至 2018-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1341429&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Climatic; Environmental; Constraints

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing rapid environmental changes, which will influence the community of organisms that live there. However, we know very little about the microscopic organisms living in the soil in this region. Soil biology (including bacteria, fungi, and invertebrates) are responsible for many important processes that sustain ecosystems, such as nutrient recycling. Without understanding the environmental conditions that influence soil biodiversity along the Antarctic Peninsula, our ability to predict the consequences of global change is strongly limited. This project will identify the soil community at many sites along the Antarctic Peninsula to discover how the community changes with environmental conditions from north to south. The project will also identify how the soil community at each site differs under different types of plants. Understanding more about the ways in which plant cover and climate conditions influence soil biodiversity will allow predictions of how communities will respond to future changes such as climate warming and invasive plant species. The project will also further the NSF goals of making scientific discoveries available to the general public and of training new generations of scientists. The investigators will engage with outreach to K-12 students and the general public both directly and through a blog and will participate in workshops for K-12 teachers. Additionally, the project will provide the opportunity for many undergraduate and graduate students of diverse backgrounds to be trained in interdisciplinary research.The investigators will determine the nature and strength of plant-soil linkages in influencing soil community composition and diversity over a latitudinal gradient of environmental and climatic conditions. The goals are to (1) increase our understanding of current biogeography and diversity by providing in-depth knowledge of soil community composition and complexity as it relates to environmental and climatic characteristics; and (2) determine the nature of aboveground-belowground community linkages over varying spatial scales. The team will identify the composition and diversity of soil communities under key habitat types (grass, moss, algae, etc.). Microbial communities (bacteria, fungi, archaea) will be investigated using pyrosequencing for community composition analysis and metagenomic sequencing to identify functional capabilities. Invertebrates (nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, microarthropods) will be extracted and identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Soil chemistry (pH, nutrient content, soil moisture, etc.) and climate conditions will be measured to determine the relationship between soil communities and physical and chemical properties. Structural equation modeling will be used to identify aboveground-belowground linkage pathways and quantify link strengths under varying environmental conditions.

南极半岛正在经历快速的环境变化，这将影响居住在那里的生物体社区。但是，我们对生活在该地区土壤中的微观生物知之甚少。土壤生物学（包括细菌，真菌和无脊椎动物）负责维持生态系统的许多重要过程，例如营养回收。在不了解影响南极半岛土壤生物多样性的环境条件的情况下，我们预测全球变化后果的能力受到了强烈的限制。该项目将确定南极半岛沿线许多地点的土壤社区，以发现社区如何随北向南的环境条件而变化。该项目还将确定每个地点的土壤社区在不同类型的植物下如何有所不同。了解植物覆盖和气候状况影响土壤生物多样性的方式更多地预测社区将如何应对未来的变化，例如气候变暖和侵入性植物。该项目还将进一步为公众提供科学发现和培训新一代科学家的目标。调查人员将直接和通过博客与K-12学生和公众进行宣传，并将参加K-12老师的研讨会。此外，该项目将为许多不同背景的本科生和研究生提供跨学科研究培训的机会。研究人员将确定在影响土壤社区组成和多样性的环境和气候条件的纬度梯度方面，在影响土壤社区组成和多样性方面的植物土壤联系的性质和强度。目标是（1）通过提供与环境和气候特征有关的土壤社区组成和复杂性的深入了解，以提高我们对当前的生物地理和多样性的理解； （2）在不同的空间尺度上确定地上露下社区联系的性质。该团队将在关键的栖息地类型（草，苔藓，藻类等）下确定土壤社区的组成和多样性。微生物群落（细菌，真菌，古细菌）将使用焦磷酸测序进行社区组成分析和元基因组测序，以识别功能能力。将提取并鉴定出无脊椎动物（线虫，潜伏，轮状，微量肢体），并鉴定为最低的分类学水平。将测量土壤化学（pH，养分含量，土壤水分等）和气候条件，以确定土壤群落与物理和化学特性之间的关系。结构方程模型将用于识别地上底环连接途径并量化不同环境条件下的链路强度。