Collaborative Research: RUI: Will climate change lead to system shifts on tropical mountains?: the interplay of epiphyte losses on host tree function, microclimate, and hydrology

合作研究：RUI：气候变化会导致热带山区的系统转变吗？：附生植物损失对寄主树功能、小气候和水文的相互作用

• 批准号: 2130112
• 负责人: Todd Dawson
• 金额: $ 36.91万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2025-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2130112&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; RUI; Will; climate

Tropical Montane Cloud Forests (TMCFs) are important ecosystems to study and conserve due to their exceedingly high biodiversity as well as the critical roles these forests play in local and regional water cycling. Deforestation in lowland regions and increases in global sea surface temperatures indirectly threaten these forests due to the lifting of the cloud base and an increase in drought conditions. Epiphytes, i.e. plants that live on the surfaces of other plants, cover nearly all tree surfaces in the TMCF and contribute substantially to ecosystem function due to their high capacity to capture and temporarily store water. Unfortunately, these plants are the most vulnerable ecosystem components to projected changes in climate. A loss of epiphytes in the TMCF would lead to substantial biodiversity loss as well as a destabilization of water resources for human populations. This work aims to fill an important gap in the understanding of feedbacks among epiphytes and forest functions in the TMCF, and will provide important data for land-use and conservation workers as well as natural resource managers and governments in tropical montane regions concerned with long-term water security. A number of local and US-based workers and students will be trained in field and lab-based techniques and regular training events and exchanges will take place amongst all the participants. Epiphyte gardens and accompanying curriculum will be created and placed in local schools to increase understanding and awareness of the connectivity between epiphytes and water cycling in the cloud forest. Tropical Montane Cloud Forests (TMCFs) are under threat due to rapid changes in climate and in fact, recent work suggests that this ecosystem is predicted to contract substantially in the coming decades. This proposal addresses the question: How will a loss of the diverse and abundant epiphyte communities in the TMCF impact tree health, energy balance and hydrologic function? The investigators propose to conduct the first large-scale epiphyte removal experiment, in which trees in forest and pasture will be stripped of their entire epiphyte community. Changes in crown-level microclimate (air temperature, relative humidity, leaf wetness, wind speed, solar radiation) as well as growth, water relations (water potential, sap flow, stomatal traits, carbon isotopes) and ecohydrological parameters (soil moisture, throughfall, stemflow) will be measured in and under the trees stripped of their epiphytes and compared with paired trees with intact epiphyte communities. Direct field-based measurements will be coupled with remotely sensed parameters (NDVI, Air Temperature, Leaf Water Content) using a high-precision drone outfitted with an integrated multispectral imaging system. A numerical model of epiphyte-host tree water relations will be developed and coupled to a land-surface hydrology model to scale up the field-based measurements and predict the effect of epiphyte loss on regional energy budgets and canopy water cycling. Field work will take place in five locations in the Monteverde Region of Central Costa Rica.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.

热带山地云森林（TMCF）是重要的生态系统，因为它们的生物多样性极高，并且这些森林在本地和区域水循环中起着关键作用，因此可以进行研究和保存。低地地区的森林砍伐和全球海面温度的升高间接威胁到这些森林，这是由于云基底座的起义和干旱条件的增加而威胁着这些森林。附生植物，即生活在其他植物表面上的植物，覆盖了TMCF中几乎所有的树表面，并由于其高能力捕获和暂时存储水而为生态系统功能做出了重大贡献。不幸的是，这些植物是预计气候变化的最脆弱的生态系统成分。 TMCF的附生植物的丧失将导致大量的生物多样性丧失，并使人口的水资源不稳定。这项工作旨在填补TMCF中附生和森林功能之间反馈的重要空白，并将为土地利用和保护工人以及与长期水安全有关的热带蒙台人地区的自然资源经理和政府提供重要数据。许多本地和美国的工人和学生将在所有参与者之间接受基于实验室和实验室的技术以及定期培训活动和交流的培训。将在当地学校创建并放置附生的花园和随附的课程，以提高对云森林中附生植物和水循环之间连通性的理解和认识。热带山地云森林（TMCF）由于气候的迅速变化而受到威胁，实际上，最近的工作表明，预计该生态系统将在未来几十年中大量收缩。该提议解决了一个问题：TMCF中多样化和丰富的附生植物群落的损失将如何影响树木健康，能量平衡和水文功能？研究人员建议进行第一个大规模的附生植物去除实验，其中将剥夺森林和牧场中的树木。冠级微气候（空气温度，相对湿度，风速，太阳辐射）以及生长，水的关系（水潜能，SAP流动，气孔性状，碳同位素）和生态水文参数（土壤水分，多面化，干燥，茎流）的变化将与epip Hylets相比。直接基于场的测量结果将与远程感知的参数（NDVI，空气温度，叶水含量）结合使用，该参数配备了具有集成的多光谱成像系统的高精度无人机。 Epiphyte-Host树水关系的数值模型将开发并耦合到土地表面水文模型，以扩大基于现场的测量结果，并预测附源于附生植物损失对区域能量预算和冠层水循环的影响。现场工作将在哥斯达黎加中部蒙特维德地区的五个地点进行。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为值得通过评估。