Dimensions US-China: Integrating the dimensions of biodiversity to understand tree performance in a changing world

中美维度：整合生物多样性维度以了解树木在不断变化的世界中的表现

• 批准号: 2124466
• 负责人: Nathan Swenson
• 金额: $ 195.73万
• 依托单位: University of Notre Dame
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-12-01 至 2025-11-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2124466&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dimensions; US; China; Integrating; dimensions

Forests contain the majority of the biological diversity on the planet. They also play a critical role in storing carbon and in providing other benefits to society. Our knowledge of how forests function depends on our understanding of the drivers of tree growth, death and reproduction. The importance of these drivers may change with tree age, species and environmental conditions. Yet, the nature and relative importance of these different drivers is difficult to study because they act over very long timescales and large spatial scales. This research project will examine tree performance in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate forests to address this challenge. The project makes use of long-term datasets about these forests to understand the slow processes involved. Specifically, the research team will measure growth, mortality and reproductive rates for 16 common tree species, including those that dominate eastern North American forests. The three dimensions of biodiversity- genetic, functional, and phylogenetic- will be integrated in this project. The data produced by the project will be valuable for those studying the biology of forests in this region. Lastly, the project will train one postdoctoral researcher, two graduate students and two undergraduate students based in the United States and will provide two training workshops for early career United States researchers. Forest dynamics emerge from demographic outcomes on the level of individual trees. This project examines how the fundamental tradeoffs in tree performance are determined by the three dimensions of biodiversity as well as environmental conditions. The core questions of this project are: (1) Are the drivers of the tradeoffs underlying tree performance consistent across a taxonomically and functionally diverse sample of species? (2) How are intra-specific functional and genetic similarity of individuals within a population linked to their demographic success? (3) How does intra-specific functional and genetic diversity vary across populations and how is this linked to tree performance across life stages? and (4) How does variation in the abiotic and biotic environment drive tree performance? The project will use long-term 50 hectare forest plots in the U.S. and China to study tree demography across temperate, subtropical, and tropical forest systems. Reference genome assemblies will be produced for 14 species of phylogenetically diverse trees. Finally, a large greenhouse experiment with tree seedlings under different conditions will help provide mechanistic understanding of the tradeoffs for young trees.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.

森林蕴藏着地球上大部分的生物多样性。它们在碳储存和为社会提供其他好处方面也发挥着关键作用。我们对森林如何运作的了解取决于我们对树木生长、死亡和繁殖驱动因素的理解。这些驱动因素的重要性可能会随着树龄、物种和环境条件而变化。然而，这些不同驱动因素的性质和相对重要性很难研究，因为它们的作用时间尺度很长，空间尺度很大。该研究项目将检查热带、亚热带和温带森林的树木性能，以应对这一挑战。该项目利用有关这些森林的长期数据集来了解所涉及的缓慢过程。具体来说，研究小组将测量 16 种常见树种的生长、死亡率和繁殖率，其中包括那些在北美东部森林中占主导地位的树种。该项目将整合生物多样性的三个维度——遗传、功能和系统发育。该项目产生的数据对于研究该地区森林生物学的人来说非常有价值。最后，该项目将在美国培训一名博士后研究员、两名研究生和两名本科生，并将为美国早期职业研究人员提供两个培训研讨会。森林动态源自个体树木层面的人口统计结果。该项目研究了树木性能的基本权衡如何由生物多样性和环境条件的三个维度决定。该项目的核心问题是：（1）在分类学和功能多样化的物种样本中，树木性能的权衡驱动因素是否一致？ (2) 群体内个体的特定内功能和遗传相似性如何与其人口统计成功相关？ (3) 不同种群的种内功能和遗传多样性如何变化？这与不同生命阶段的树木表现有何联系？ (4) 非生物和生物环境的变化如何影响树木的性能？该项目将利用美国和中国 50 公顷的长期森林地块来研究温带、亚热带和热带森林系统的树木人口统计。将为 14 种系统发育多样化的树木制作参考基因组组件。最后，在不同条件下对树苗进行大型温室实验将有助于提供对幼树权衡的机制理解。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。