Collaborative Research: Lightning as an agent of tropical tree mortality

合作研究：闪电是热带树木死亡的原因

基本信息

批准号：
1655346
负责人：
Stephen Yanoviak
金额：
$ 45.97万
依托单位：
University of Louisville Research Foundation Inc
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2017
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2017-07-01 至 2023-06-30
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1655346&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Lightning agent tropical

项目摘要

Lightning is an exceptionally powerful natural phenomenon; its destructive effects have been a source of fear and fascination for humans throughout history. Scientists have a relatively good understanding of the physics of lightning, but its ecological importance at the landscape scale--especially its role as an agent of tree death--remain unclear. Measuring the effects of lightning in tropical forests is important because lightning frequency is expected to increase by as much as 50% over the next few decades as the climate warms. This research will provide the foundation for understanding how such changes will affect forest dynamics and ecosystem processes such as carbon cycling. Specifically, it will determine how the size, location, and species identity of a tree affects the probability that it will be killed by lightning; and it will measure the amount of dead wood present in a forest due to lightning strikes. Tropical rainforests are the world's best classroom for studying biodiversity and ecosystem processes, and this project provides outstanding opportunities for students at the University of Louisville and the University of Alabama in Huntsville to gain valuable first-hand research experience in an international setting. The field site in Panama is a popular tourist destination, thus the project provides a unique opportunity for participants to interact regularly with the public. Prior studies by the researchers on rainforest canopies attracted international media attention, and this project is expected to generate similar public interest. Finally, this project includes a collaboration with the Director of Education at the Kentucky Science Center, who will produce museum displays highlighting this research, and will organize public discussions with project participants in an informal Science Café setting. The principal objective of this study is to quantify the ecological effects of lightning on trees and lianas (woody vines) in a lowland tropical forest. The research employs the latest high-tech lightning sensors in combination with digital video cameras to record and precisely locate cloud-to-ground lightning flashes over approximately 20 square km of forest canopy in real time. The central hypothesis is that lightning is a major agent of tropical tree and liana mortality, and thereby plays an important role in carbon cycling and plant-feeding insect distributions. The work will integrate information from field ecology, remote sensing, atmospheric science, and physics to answer three basic questions: 1) What factors affect the probability of lightning strikes to tropical trees?; 2) What is the amount of carbon in the form of dead wood produced by lightning on a forest-wide scale?; and 3) Does the distribution of lightning damage affect canopy insect distributions? This work will improve knowledge of tropical forest dynamics by measuring the effects on lightning on different forest components across the landscape. Specifically, it will uncover key interactions among lightning, lianas, trees, and insects. As a whole, the project will provide the first accurate measure of lightning distribution, frequency, and biological effects in a tropical forest.

闪电是一种非常强大的自然现象。它的破坏性影响一直是整个历史上人类的恐惧和迷恋的根源。科学家对闪电的物理学有相对良好的了解，但其在景观规模上的生态重要性 - 尤其是其作为树死亡的代理人的作用 - 不清楚。测量热带森林中闪电的影响很重要，因为在接下来的几十年中，闪电频率预计将随着攀登温暖而增加50％。这项研究将为理解这种变化如何影响森林动态和生态系统过程（例如碳循环）提供基础。具体而言，它将确定树木的大小，位置和物种身份如何影响闪电杀死的概率；由于雷击，它将测量森林中存在的死木数量。热带雨林是研究生物多样性和生态系统过程的世界上最好的教室，该项目为路易斯维尔大学和亨茨维尔大学阿拉巴马大学的学生提供了出色的机会，以在国际环境中获得宝贵的第一手研究经验。巴拿马的现场网站是一个受欢迎的旅游目的地，因此该项目为参与者定期与公众互动提供了独特的机会。研究人员先前关于雨林檐篷的研究引起了国际媒体的关注，预计该项目将产生类似的公共利益。最后，该项目包括与肯塔基州科学中心教育总监的合作，该中心将生产博物馆展示这项研究，并将在非正式的科学咖啡馆环境中与项目参与者组织公众讨论。这项研究的主要目的是量化低地热带森林中闪电对树木和叶（木藤）的生态影响。研究员工最新的高科技闪电传感器与数码摄像机结合使用，以实时在大约20平方公里的森林冠层上录制并精确定位云到地面闪电。中心假设是闪电是热带树和liana死亡率的主要药物，因此在碳循环和植物喂养绝缘分布中起着重要作用。这项工作将整合现场生态学，遥感，大气科学和物理学的信息，以回答三个基本问题：1）哪些因素会影响雷击与热带树的可能性？ 2）闪电在森林范围内产生的死木形式的碳含量是多少？ 3）闪电损伤的分布会影响冠层绝缘分布吗？这项工作将通过衡量对整个景观各种森林成分的影响来改善热带森林动态的知识。具体而言，它将发现闪电，叶，树木和昆虫之间的关键相互作用。总体而言，该项目将在热带森林中首先准确地测量闪电分布，频率和生物效应。