Short circuits in the nitrogen cycle regulate ecosystem development in the terrestrial Antarctic

氮循环短路调节南极陆地生态系统的发展

基本信息

批准号：
NE/I011722/1
负责人：
Kevin Newsham
金额：
$ 22.53万
依托单位：
British Antarctic Survey
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2012
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2012 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FI011722%2F1
关键词：
Short circuits nitrogen cycle regulate

项目摘要

The Antarctic is a uniquely important 'natural laboratory' for examining ecosystem responses to climate change, and it is vital that the biological changes being observed there are properly understood. Its uniqueness comes from a combination of the simplicity of its ecosystems, which exhibit restricted species diversity and food chain complexity, with environmental warming which is occurring at approximately twice the rate of change in temperate regions. One of the major features of this warming appears to be the 'greening-up' of terrestrial habitats. This greening appears to be linked to the availability of nitrogen which is often present in short supply in many polar environments. Despite its central role in regulating plant growth, our knowledge of the nitrogen cycle in Antarctic environments remains extremely poor. Consequently, it remains difficult to understand and predict how envionmental perturbations will affect or threaten these unique terrestrial communities. In addition, we believe that current models of the nitrogen cycle are unsound as they have failed to include key cogs and internal loops. Our aim is to greatly expand our knowledge of polar N cycling by looking in detail at competition between soil and plants for organic and inorganic nitrogen. Ultimately, this will enhance mathematical models used for predicting ecosystem responses to perturbation. The work directly underpins policy relating to environmental change and biodiversity in polar regions. The work is also extremely relevant to many other low-input ecosystems around the world (e.g. boreal forest, Arctic tundra, tropical rainforest).

南极是一个独特的重要“天然实验室”，用于检查生态系统对气候变化的反应，至关重要的是，观察到的生物学变化可以正确理解。它的独特性来自其生态系统的简单性的结合，它们表现出受限制的物种多样性和食物链的复杂性，环境变暖的发生率大约是温带地区变化率的两倍。这种变暖的主要特征之一似乎是陆地栖息地的“绿化”。这种绿化似乎与氮的可用性有关，氮通常在许多极地环境中供应。尽管它在调节植物生长方面的核心作用，但我们对南极环境中氮循环的了解仍然非常贫穷。因此，很难理解和预测令人羡慕的扰动将如何影响或威胁这些独特的陆地社区。此外，我们认为氮循环的当前模型由于未能包括关键齿轮和内部循环而不实现。我们的目的是通过详细研究土壤和植物之间的有机和无机氮之间的竞争，从而大大扩展我们对极地循环的知识。最终，这将增强用于预测生态系统对扰动的响应的数学模型。这项工作直接支持了与环境变化和极地地区的生物多样性有关的政策。这项工作也与世界各地的许多其他低输入生态系统（例如北方森林，北极苔原，热带雨林）非常相关。