NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in China

Weller Lorraine, Corona CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Lorraine Weller Clarke of University of California, Riverside to conduct a research project, entitled "Drivers of plant biodiversity in urban, suburban, and rural home gardens across the Beijing Municipality of China," during the summer of 2012 at China Agricultural University in Beijing. The host scientists are Dr. Zhenrong Yu and his graduate student, Liangtao Li. Home gardens are complex systems of various trees and crops around homesteads and are hotspots of native and agricultural biodiversity. This research asks, "How do factors affecting biodiversity, and ecosystem services in home gardens change over an urbanization gradient?" To address this question, biodiversity and abundance surveys are being completed in 20 home gardens in each of four villages (urban, suburban, rural, and deep rural) at varying distances from Beijing. Results promise to determine the influence of urbanization and farmer socioeconomic status on plant form, common uses, diversity, and native status. Intellectual Merit: This project addresses large knowledge gaps in how human management and urbanization impacts native plant use. Though ecological function and anthropogenic activity are intrisically linked in urban ecosystems, basic science framework to incorporate culture and human choice into ecological theory is still lacking. This multi-scale agricultural study will address core ecological theories, biodiversity and food security in managed areas while also taking into account urbanization influences on cultural activities. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Food security in the rapidly urbanizing city of Beijing is dependent on having stable, productive local agriculture. With minimal governmental protection for urban agriculture, quantifying ecosystem services and long term sustainability of home gardens is important for their continued provision.