Collaborative Research: Plant Community Structure Across    Resource Gradients from Grassland to Forest
{'Code': '08010208', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DEB', 'LongName': 'Division Of Environmental Biology'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Crystal Blackshear'}
A general synthesis of how patterns of constraint and system                    scaling vary among ecosystems within different environmental                    regimes will be developed through mathematical modeling.  The                   search will be organized around three objectives: (1) To                        synthesize existing data from a spectrum of ecosystems as                       represented by various LTER sites, in particular, the gradient of               sites across the North American continent that includes the                     deciduous forest on the east through the Konza LTER site in the                 tall-grass prairie to the Central Plains LTER site in the short-                grass prairie.  This work will focus on the role of key                         environmental drivers (insolation, temperature, moisture,                       nutrients, and disturbance regimes) in structuring specific                     ecosystems.  (2) To implement an integrated set of computerized                 simulators which are sufficiently general that they may be                      applied across this gradient.  (3) To test model-generated                      hypotheses and predictions against independent data representing                ecosystems that were not involved in the model development.                                                                                                     The ecosystem-level phenomena of interest in this research imply                spatial scales as typically connoted by the term "landscape" or                 larger, and decadal to centennial time scales. The emphasis on                  transitions between ecosystem types implies an extension to                     spatial scales that are at least regional, and ultimately                       continental, in extent.                                                                                                                                         Four models, which are already developed and well documented,                   will serve as the starting point for this research: (1) the                     CENTURY model of carbon and nutrient dynamics; (2) the MAGIC                    model of soil and water chemistry; (3) the FORET model of forest                dynamics; and (4) the STEPPE model of succession in semiarid                    grasslands.  A principal task in the research will bethe                        development of appropriate interfaces between these models in the               context of simulating the pattern in the continental scale                      gradient.                                                                                                                                                       The significance of this research is that it will help us to                    develop a modeling base in support of comparative ecosystem                     analysis among sites in the LTER network and the development of                 ecosystem theory.  The research will also address the issue of                  how measurements made at small scales in space and time can be                  extrapolated.  Both the development of theory and an                            understanding of issues of scale are essential to the development               of sustainable management regimes for the Earth's ecosystems.                                                                                                   Drs. Shugart, and Lauenroth are leaders in the field of                         ecological modeling.  The institutional support available to them               is superior.
[{'FirstName': 'William', 'LastName': 'Lauenroth', 'EmailAddress': 'wlauenro@uwyo.edu', 'StartDate': '10/15/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Edward', 'LastName': 'Elliott', 'EmailAddress': 'eeliott@nsf.gov', 'StartDate': '10/15/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'Colorado State University', 'CityName': 'Fort Collins', 'ZipCode': '805232002', 'PhoneNumber': '9704916355', 'StreetAddress': '601 S Howes St', 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Colorado', 'StateCode': 'CO'}
{'Code': '1128', 'Text': 'Population & Community Ecology'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1988&All=true', 'xml': '8807881.xml'}