| 项目编号: | 1457017
|
| 项目名称: | OPUS: Biogeochemistry of Amazonian Terrestrial Ecosystems |
| 作者: | Eric Davidson
|
| 承担单位: | University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences
|
| 批准年: | 2014
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| 开始日期: | 2015-04-15
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| 结束日期: | 2018-03-31
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| 资助金额: | USD196822
|
| 资助来源: | US-NSF
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| 项目类别: | Standard Grant
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| 国家: | US
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| 语种: | 英语
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| 特色学科分类: | Biological Sciences - Environmental Biology
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| 英文关键词: | forest
; amazon basin
; phosphorus
; amazon
; carbon
; nitrogen
; amazonian forest
; change
; fire
|
| 英文摘要: | Deforestation, agricultural expansion and climate change are significant threats to the integrity of ecosystems in the Amazon Basin of South America. The effects of these changes on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and other chemical elements that are essential nutrients for plant and animal life determine how fast vegetation regrows after forests are disturbed, the degree to which various agricultural practices are sustainable, the amounts and types of greenhouse gases that are emitted from soils, and the amount of pollution in groundwater and rivers. Over the last 22 years, the principal investigator of this project has worked with scientists and students from many countries on specific research projects in different parts of the Amazon Basin. Early work showed how important the cycling of soil nutrients is for sustaining cattle pastures with few surviving trees in them, for young re-growing forests, and for older (less disturbed) forests. A big experiment was then conducted where some rain was diverted from an older forest, with the results showing how important water availability is, even in places where it otherwise seems so abundant. Finally, the focus of the most recent research has been on the impacts of more intensive agriculture in the soy and corn cropping systems that have increasingly replaced forests in some parts of the Amazon, along with the role that fire plays in the degradation of forests in the southern part of the Basin. Changes in the Amazon are large scale and rapid, which presents both challenges and opportunities for research. The current project is designed specifically to try and link all of the prior research of the investigator in this region for addressing two main questions. First, how do the relative amounts of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus affect plant growth and the sustainable management of forests, cattle pastures and crop systems across the Amazon Basin? Second, what combinations of these land uses are the most sustainable and how might this change as the climate changes and fire becomes more widespread, as is predicted? In addition to a peer-reviewed monograph for scientific audiences, the investigate will write a book about the importance of nutrient cycling for the sustainability management of Amazonian forests and farms that is intended for a non-specialist audience and will be published in English, Portuguese and Spanish. The book will use real examples of cattle ranching, small-holder farming, large-scale farming, and various types of forest management across the climate gradients of the Amazon Basin, weaving together narratives and data for each.
A major focus of this effort is the identification of circumstances where deforestation, farming and fire affect the balance of soil available nitrogen and phosphorus and their relative importance for plant growth and carbon storage in highly contrasting, but representative, ecosystems. Variation in the ratios of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus is the presumed key that will be pursued. As agriculture and beef production intensify, management of nutrients will become increasingly important and challenging across the entire region. This project will synthesize data and study results from the past quarter century that are central to addressing this issue. The investigator is in a unique position to provide accessible, reliable, important and enjoyable reading for a wide audience on the topics of natural resource management, environmental science and sustainability in the Amazon. |
| 资源类型: | 项目
|
| 标识符: | http://119.78.100.158/handle/2HF3EXSE/94858
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| Appears in Collections: | 影响、适应和脆弱性
气候减缓与适应
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| Recommended Citation: | |
Eric Davidson. OPUS: Biogeochemistry of Amazonian Terrestrial Ecosystems. 2014-01-01.
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