"Biodiversity is the total variety and variability of life," Wu said. "When hearing the word, most people think of the number of individual species. That is indeed a critical part of biodiversity, but our project also will focus on how these species function as a group."
In July, Wu traveled to the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station to begin fieldwork for the experiments. Over the next five years, Wu will spend about a month and a half each year in the grasslands.
Stretching from eastern China to Hungary, the Eurasia Grassland is the largest contiguous biome--or regional community of organisms--in the world. According to Wu, who grew up in the region, its vastness and species diversity makes it the perfect testing ground for ecological experiments.
There are more than 50 different species of plants that Wu and his colleagues will manipulate by designing various combinations of functional groups of species in 6 x 6 meter (20 x 20 foot) plots. More than 800 plots will be established by the team.
Wu said this research differs from previous attempts to understand relationships in biodiversity because they are working with real ecosystems. "We're going to manipulate natural communities and create realistic gradients of real biodiversity," Wu said.
By studying the successes and failures of these combinations, Wu hopes to learn about factors that contribute to a sustainable ecosystem. Sustainability is important
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Contact: Skip Derra
skip.derra@asu.edu
480-965-4823
Arizona State University
1-Aug-2006