MSM Collaborative Research: Agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon and its influence on the water, energy, and climate cycles

MSM 合作研究：巴西亚马逊地区的农业扩张及其对水、能源和气候循环的影响

• 批准号: 0949370
• 负责人: Christopher Neill
• 金额: $ 33.7万
• 依托单位: Marine Biological Laboratory
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0949370&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: MSM; Collaborative; Research; Agricultural; expansion

The Amazon has suffered extensive deforestation in recent years as a result of a large increase in global demand for beef and soy. Deforestation changes groundwater and stream flow in both small and large river basins and, in the future, may cause a hotter and drier climate in the Amazon. How much the water resources of the Amazon have already changed, as well as how much they may change in the future is not known. This project addresses the consequences of agricultural expansion, and that lack of knowledge, on the water resources of the Amazon by combining data collection and computer models. Stream flow and climate data will be gathered in 23 watersheds in evergreen forest, savanna, pasture, and soy environments to understand the effects of deforestation on the local water and energy balance. The data will be used with existing computer models to provide a large-scale analysis of the effects of past and future deforestation on the energy and water cycles of the Amazon. Farmers, policymakers, educators, students, and the public will have opportunities to learn about the effects of land use change as a result of this project. Data generated and lessons learned will be used to develop stream health measures that can be applied on an existing network of properties covering more than 1.8 million hectares (4.5 million acres), in Brazil. The project will provide direct financial and technical support to at least four PhD students in the US and Brazil, as well as master?s and undergraduate students from the State University of Mato Grosso at Nova Xavantina. The work will also support and expand an influential teacher educational program in Mato Grosso, Brazil, strengthening science education ties between middle schools in Mato Grosso, Brazil, and Falmouth, MA. It will also send two science journalists each year to Brazil for hands-on training.

近年来，由于全球对牛肉和大豆的需求大幅增加，亚马逊地区的森林遭受了大面积的砍伐。森林砍伐改变了大小河流流域的地下水和溪流，并在未来可能导致亚马逊地区气候变得更加炎热和干燥。亚马逊的水资源已经发生了多少变化，以及未来可能发生多少变化，目前尚不清楚。该项目通过结合数据收集和计算机模型来解决农业扩张和知识缺乏对亚马逊水资源造成的后果。将收集常绿森林、稀树草原、牧场和大豆环境中 23 个流域的溪流和气候数据，以了解森林砍伐对当地水和能源平衡的影响。这些数据将与现有的计算机模型结合使用，对过去和未来的森林砍伐对亚马逊能源和水循环的影响进行大规模分析。农民、政策制定者、教育工作者、学生和公众将有机会了解该项目导致的土地利用变化的影响。生成的数据和吸取的经验教训将用于制定河流健康措施，这些措施可应用于覆盖巴西超过 180 万公顷（450 万英亩）的现有财产网络。该项目将为美国和巴西的至少四名博士生以及马托格罗索州立大学新萨凡蒂纳分校的硕士和本科生提供直接的财政和技术支持。这项工作还将支持和扩大巴西马托格罗索州有影响力的教师教育计划，加强巴西马托格罗索州和马萨诸塞州法尔茅斯中学之间的科学教育联系。它还将每年派遣两名科学记者前往巴西进行实践培训。