Collaborative Research: RUI: Hydrology of the vegetation on vegetation: Comparison and scaling of rainfall interception and solute alteration by common arboreal epiphytes.

合作研究：RUI：植被对植被的水文学：常见树栖附生植物对降雨拦截和溶质改变的比较和缩放。

• 批准号: 1954538
• 负责人: Clara Moore
• 金额: $ 15.86万
• 依托单位: Franklin and Marshall College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-06-15 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1954538&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RUI; Hydrology; vegetation

Forests cover can significantly reduce the amount of rainfall reaching the ground and alter its chemistry. This process, called "interception," impacts water paths, soil erosion, and stormwater management costs. There are three major parts of the forest canopy: bark, leaves and epiphytes (the plants that live on the canopy). The effect of epiphytes on rainfall interception is not well understood, yet they can live in any forest ecosystem and represent some of Earth’s most water-absorbent land organisms. This study addresses this knowledge gap by monitoring interception variables for a southeastern US forest that hosts 3 major types of epiphytes that differ in how the intercept rainfall (lichen, resurrection fern, and Spanish moss). The study will involve multiple measurements in water and epiphytes, as well as monitoring weather conditions. Results will inform water and forest managers about conservation efforts for epiphyte-rich forests. The research will be led by primarily Undergraduate Institutions and will train undergraduate students in cutting-edge science. Outcomes of the project will be incorporated into educational outreach efforts reaching thousands of K-12 (kinder to twelfth grade) and undergraduate students, high school teachers, and community members. It will also provide research experiences to members of underrepresented groups, including those associated with African American economically disadvantaged, and military communities.The first process in the rainfall-to-discharge hydrologic flow path in vegetated ecosystems is the partitioning of rain by forest canopies. Rain-canopy interactions have been documented to impact stormwater runoff and infrastructure costs, supply hundreds of kilograms of dissolved solutes per ha per year to soils and mitigate regional warming. A major process that has been overlooked on this topic is the role of epiphytes (plants that structurally live on canopies). Since epiphytes are ubiquitous across forest ecosystems and many can store 1000% of their dry weight in water, excluding these organisms significantly impacts canopy water balances and related solute exchanges. This study addresses this major knowledge gap at a forest with high biomass of 3 common types of epiphytes (lichens, ferns and bromeliads) that represent a water-control continuum, from poikilohydric (no internal water control, like lichens) to homoiohydric (presence of internal water controls, like the bromeliad, Spanish moss). Principal objectives are to: (1) assess storage, evaporation and drainage dynamics for these epiphytes; (2) evaluate ecohydrological traits that underlie epiphyte’s water balance and determine their vulnerability to projected changes in climate; (3) quantify epiphyte alterations to rainfall inorganic solute characteristics; and (4) scale findings to estimate current and future relative stand-level influence of epiphytes. Addressing these objectives may alter estimates and predictions of major hydrological processes linked to climatologically relevant energy exchanges and ecologically critical mass exchanges. The project will support 1 post-doctoral scholar and 6 undergraduate students to receive substantial research experiences (field work, instrumentation, data collection and processing, modeling and model evaluation, manuscript preparation, and results presentation) in a timely & critical subfield at the intersection of eco-hydrology and hydrometeorology. The project will also disseminate information to broad audiences through websites, workshops, interpretative signs installed in the study forest area, sequential art, including graphic novellas and character designs, and a time-lapsed video to be featured in a leading educational YouTube channel with international viewership (MinuteEarth).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

森林覆盖范围可以显着到达森林的量，称为“水道，土壤泥土和雨水管理成本”。森林冠层的三个主要部分：树皮，叶子和附生植物（居住在树冠上的植物）。附生植物对降雨的影响并不代表地球上的某些浪费水的土地生物。在拦截，复活的蕨类植物和西班牙苔藓中，该研究将涉及水和epiphyts的测量，以及监测天气情况。 -12（Kinder到十二年级）和本科生，高中老师和社区成员被记录在雨水径流和基础设施成本上，每年每年溶解的溶质数百公斤，因为森林生态系统中的森林生态系统无处不在。不包括有生物的生物会影响冠层水平衡和相关的溶质交换。 1）评估附生的储存，蒸发和排水动力学；群众交流将在及时且关键的子场中的1个纪录片，数据收集，建模和模型评估，并支持1个地下。通过网站E研究森林区域，顺序艺术和一个时间盖的视频告知，该视频将在领先的教育YouTube频道Thnternational Thnternational Thnternational Thnternational Threstiational Threstiate Threstiate Threstional Therternation奖中。和更广泛的影响审查标准。