IRES Track I: U.S.-Thailand: Lasting consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on landscape change in tropical crop cultivation

IRES 轨道 I：美国-泰国：COVID-19 大流行对热带作物种植景观变化的持久影响

• 批准号: 2153579
• 负责人: Gang Chen
• 金额: $ 29.83万
• 依托单位: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-06-01 至 2025-05-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2153579&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: IRES; Track; U.S.; Thailand; Lasting

Americans’ access to tropical crops has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies confirmed the immediate impacts of this global crisis on the agricultural system across the tropics; however, the long-term impact of COVID-19 on tropical agriculture systems remains unknown. In particular, crop cultivation is an integral part of the agriculture supply chain. While the pandemic apparently disrupts cultivation tentatively, it is unclear whether there may be a slow recovery or a permanent change in the cultivation landscape, driven by diverse, COVID-19-relevant biophysical and socioeconomic factors, e.g., crop acreage or types, and cultivation methods. Such uncertainty could have a downward impact on U.S. economy, regional trade, and food security. This project aims to address this knowledge gap by providing U.S. undergraduate and graduate students, particularly students from underrepresented groups, a unique opportunity to study the lasting consequences of COVID-19 on landscape change in tropical crop cultivation. A total of 18 U.S. students will be recruited to work on this project in Thailand, which is the largest supplier of tropical products from South and Southeast Asia to the United States. Jointly trained by UNC Charlotte faculty and Thai mentors from Chulalongkorn University and Thammasat University, IRES students will develop an international understanding of tropical food systems, Earth observation big data analytics, mixed methods research, and land-use science during the cohort-based activities. The international experiences will further broaden U.S. students’ horizons by exposing them to rural and urban cultures via fieldwork in agricultural and urbanizing communities and on-campus research activities in Bangkok. This project also offers unique opportunities to connect IRES students with professionals in other fields, such as inequality studies, ecological sustainability, and biodiversity in the tropics. Together, these experiences will prepare students to chart pathways into STEM and related careers.The project addresses three interrelated research questions during three intensive summer sessions: (i) What are the differences in pre- and post-pandemic land use for crop cultivation? (ii) How does the pandemic affect the social and biophysical drivers in crop cultivation and to what effect? (iii) Will the future agricultural landscape return to a pre-pandemic state? If yes, how fast? If not, what will be different? Each year, a cohort of six students (five undergraduate and one graduate student) will be recruited with an emphasis on underrepresented groups. Cohort one will develop a cutting-edge geospatial model to extract location and acreage of crops. Cohort two will implement open-ended surveys and interviews with farmers and key stakeholders to develop an in-depth understanding of the relationship between the pandemic and tropical agricultural practices. Cohort three will combine results from cohort one and cohort two to simulate trajectories of future land-use change. Students will be trained to study land-use models, evaluate qualitative data, and learn effective ways to communicate mixed methods STEM research with decision makers and stakeholders in the region through student-led workshops. Our project enables a cohort experience, where the participating students will have individual projects, which together will be coordinated to address the three research questions. This project is funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

美国人获得热带作物的机会受到19日大流行的严重影响。研究证实了这场全球危机对热带地区农业体系的直接影响。但是，Covid-19对热带农业系统的长期影响仍然未知。特别是，农作物种植是农业供应链不可或缺的一部分。虽然大流行显然会暂定地破坏耕作，但尚不清楚是否可能会缓慢恢复或永久性变化，这是由潜水员，相关的19个相关的生物物理和社会经济因素驱动的，例如，农作物土地或类型，以及种植方法。这种不确定性可能会对美国经济，区域贸易和粮食安全产生下降的影响。该项目旨在通过提供美国本科生和研究生，尤其是来自代表性不足的团体的学生，这是研究Covid-19对热带农作物种植中景观变化的持久后果的独特机会来解决这一知识差距。总共将招募18名美国学生在泰国开展该项目，该项目是从南亚和东南亚到美国的最大的热带产品供应商。由Chulalongkorn University和Thammasat University的UNC夏洛特教职员工和泰国大学的泰国导师共同培训，IRES学生将在基于同类的活动期间对热带食品系统，地球观察大数据分析，混合方法研究和土地利用科学发展国际理解。国际经验将通过在农业和城市化社区中的实地调查以及曼谷的校园研究活动中的实地考察来进一步扩大美国学生的视野。该项目还提供了独特的机会，可以将IRES学生与其他领域的专业人员联系起来，例如不平等研究，生态可持续性和热带地区的生物多样性。这些经验将使学生们为进入STEM和相关职业的途径做好准备。该项目在三个密集的夏季课程中解决了三个相互关联的研究问题：（i）在农作物种植前和大流行的土地使用中有什么区别？ （ii）大流行如何影响农作物种植中的社会和生物物理驱动因素？ （iii）未来的农业景观会回到流行前国家吗？如果是，多快？如果没有，会有什么不同？每年，将招募六个学生（五名本科生和一名研究生）组成的队列，重点是代表性不足的群体。队列将开发一个尖端的地理空间模型，以提取农作物的位置和种植。队列第二将对农民和主要利益相关者进行开放式调查以及对流行和热带农业实践之间关系的深入了解。队列第三组将结合一号队列的结果，并组合两者，以模拟未来土地利用变化的轨迹。学生将接受培训，以研究土地利用模型，评估定性数据，并学习通过以学生为主导的研讨会与该地区的决策者和利益相关者进行交流混合方法的有效方法。我们的项目可以提供队列体验，参与的学生将共同进行单个项目，并将共同协调以解决这三个研究问题。该项目由国际科学与工程办公室（OISE）资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准来评估，被认为是珍贵的支持。