ECO-DYNAMIC-AFRICA · Tropical forests in East Africa - Relationships between ecosystem diversity / ecosystem function and environmental gradients
7РП — „Хора“ (Действия „Мария Кюри“)
- Период
- 2009-08-01 → 2011-07-31
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 180 217 €
- Участници
- 1
- Схема
- MC-IEF
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.
Накратко на български
Тропическите гори в Източна Африка се анализират, за да се разбере как околната среда влияе върху биоразнообразието им. Резултатите помагат за създаването на политики за опазване на природата и намаляване на парниковите газове.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Tropical forests in East Africa - Relationships between ecosystem diversity / ecosystem function and environmental gradients
The two main research foci of ECO-DYNAMIC-AFRICA included: 1) analysis of causal relationships between environmental gradients and ecosystem diversity in East African forests and 2) assessment of feedbacks between tropical forests and environmental change processes. East Africa was the focus of this proposal as it is an area of strong gradients in ecosystems and environment and an area where future climate changes will significantly affect wildlife, humans and ecosystem service provision. The forests investigated incorporate diversity hotspots and are of high local economic importance. Also, the suspected loss of forests, which is widely acknowledged in tropical countries, was expected to result in emissions of greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. The findings are important for carbon mitigation based policies and conservation, including UN-REDD+. The work directly contributes to WWF Tanzania – REDD project.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
The strength and nature of the suggested link between climate change and ecosystem function (across spatial and ecological scales) is still unclear. Beside climatic factors determining niche heterogeneity, and community composition, there is a complex interplay of environmental variables (e.g. CO2 levels, anthropogenic players) and ecological factors (e.g. area effects, dispersal, past climate dynamics) shaping species distributions. Processes at range margins determine ecosystem shapes as well as species’ capacities to respond to changes. Yet, abrupt ecological break-ups are rare suggesting that ecosystem edges are transient. The proposed research will address the knowledge gap regarding the understanding of environmental - ecosystem relationships by 1) generating models for forest diversity in East Africa based on prevalent environmental niche gradients, and 2) by quantifying the relevance of African forests in vegetation-atmosphere feedbacks. Dispersal kernels and climate predictions will be implemented into Bayesian models to model forest biome distributions. Earth observation (EO) data and existent pollen coring data will be used to reconstruct past forest dynamics. Reflectance values derived from EO and field data and structural measurements will be used to study forest’s role in the carbon cycle from local to regional scales. East Africa is the focus of this proposal as it is an area of strong gradients in ecosystems and environment, it is an area where this independent research will fit within, and be fertilized by, existing research strengths at the host institution, and an area where future impact of climate change is expected to have a significant impact on wildlife and humans. Research output will be utilized by the EU Network Project Rationalising Biodiversity Conservation in Dynamic Ecosystems (www. rubicode.net) that uses a functional approach in the analysis of ecosystems as a base for developing flexible and effective conservation strategies.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- UNIVERSITY OF YORK · YORK NORTH YORKSHIREКоординаторОбединеното кралство
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз