To gain a better understanding of the storage process in plants, the PIs will study plants that have evolved in an ecosystem in which storage is obviously useful. The alpine environment is one in which such a condition exists. Alpine plants provide unique opportunities to study the advantages and costs of resource storage to plants. The PIs will use alpine plants as model systems to study storage as a general phenomenon. The study will yield new information on how storage benefits growth of these plants, what its costs are in terms of future growth, and how plants can conduct storage in a competitive environment where soil microorganisms use the same resources. The questions addressed in this proposal have several practical implications. First, by studying plant survival in harsh ecosystems, the PIs will learn about adaptations that could be useful for plants in agricultural systems. Second, a basic understanding of soil nitrogen transformations can have a practical application in agricultural ecosystems. Finally, the approach developed will provide useful information on processes in alpine ecosystems, an area that may prove quite susceptible to global warming and other climate changes.
