U.S.-Spain Cooperative Research: Modeling Grass and Shrub Vegetation Recovery After Disturbance

University Of North Texas, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

0104728 Acevedo This two-year award, which supports U.S.-Spain cooperative research on modeling grass and shrub vegetation recovery after disturbance, using product imaging techniques to investigate molecular dynamics, involves Miguel Acevedo of the University of North Texas and Jose Bonvehi at the University of Alicante, Spain. The objectives of their research are to develop individual-based models for vegetation regeneration, and to develop scale-up methods by estimating parameters of the simpler transition models from the individual-based models. The U. S. investigator brings to this collaboration his experience with modeling and spatial analysis. This is complemented by the Spanish investigators' expertise in modeling population and community dynamics and his data sets on tropical grass growth and grass/shrub recovery dynamics after disturbance events. The results of this research are expected to provide an understanding of vegetable dynamics in soil useful to conservation efforts and ecological restoration, and to assessing their influence on geochemical cycles.