Organization:
Research Title: Ecological Diversity
Funding Level (millions of dollars):
| FY94 | 0.0 |
|---|---|
| FY95 | 4.6 |
| FY96 | 4.8 |
Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Component:
(a) Subcommittee: Global Change Research Subcommittee (100%)
NSTC Committee on Fundamental Science
(b) Environmental Issue: Large-Scale Changes in Land-Use (100%)
(c) Research Activity: System Structure and Function: Understanding (60%);
Impacts and
Adaptation: Ecological Systems (40%)
Organizational Component:
Division of Environmental Biology (DEB)
Directorate for Biological Sciences
National Science Foundation
NSF/DEB, Room 635
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
Point of Contact:
Scott Collins
Phone: 703-306-1479
Research Goals:
To determine the potential impacts of global change on the biological and ecological
diversity of managed and unmanaged ecosystems and the resulting effects of altered
diversity on ecosystem function.
Research Description:
Ecological processes influenced by or contributing to changes in the global climate
and
other natural systems ultimately are dependent on the diversity of organisms and
their
influence on system dynamics. An improved understanding of ecological processes
requires knowledge of the species, populations, and spatial patterns that contribute
to total
community composition (including microbial communities), survival and
adaptation
mechanisms, natural rates of change, and human-caused changes such as exotic
invasions
or extinctions. Diversity can be defined as the number of different items and their
relative
frequency. For biological and ecological diversity, these items and processes are
organized
at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the chemical structures that
are the
molecular basis of heredity. Projects supported by this program will include biotic
surveys
Program Interfaces:
Within NSF, the Ecological Diversity Program complements the Ecological Rates of
Change, Land-Margin Ecosystem Research, and Water and Energy: Atmosphere,
Vegetation, and Earth (WEAVE) programs as primary means of addressing
fundamental
problems in ecological research related to global change. This program also is a
centerpiece
of the multi-agency US/GCRP initiative on terrestrial ecology related to global
change.
Interagency coordination of solicitation and review of proposals is under way.
Program Milestones:
- Conduct of research projects examining the effects of global change on the
biological
and
ecological diversity of managed and unmanaged ecosystems in 1995 and following
years.
- Conduct of research projects that increase understanding of the fundamental
relationship
between biological diversity and ecological processes in 1995 and following years.
- Conduct of research projects that determine how biological diversity can alter
or
ameliorate deleterious effects of global change in 1995 and following years.
Policy Payoffs:
Comparative studies in Ecological Diversity are important because they are the basis
for
synthesis and generation of principles used in ecosystem management. In the short
run,
new knowledge obtained through research on these topics will assist in
identification
of
critical gaps in understanding, thereby helping to establish future priorities for
research.
Longer-term payoffs will be evident as greater knowledge is gained of the ways of
the
vulnerability of managed and unmanaged ecosystems to changing environmental
conditions. This advanced knowledge will also help refine integrated models used
for
assessments of the impacts of future global changes on ecosystems and the likely
efficacy
of various mitigation and adaptation strategies.