Title : IAIOES07 REPORT ON THE IAI WORKSHOP ON TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES Type : IAI Newsletter NSF Org: GEO Date : August 8, 1995 File : iaioes07 THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH REPORT ON THE IAI WORKSHOP ON TROPICAL ECOSYSTEMS AND BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES April 4-7, 1994 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos, SP, Brazil TABLE OF CONTENTS =46OREWORD 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 I. BACKGROUND 9 =09 1. The Need for Research 9 =09 2. Global Implications 10 =09 II. THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE 12 III. ISSUES AND PRIORITIES 14 =09 1. Land Use Change 16 =09 2. Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry 17 3. Water and Energy Cycles 18 =09 IV. RESEARCH QUESTIONS 20 =09 1. Land Use Changes 20 =09 2. Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry 21 3. Water and Energy Cycles 23 =09 V. APPROACH 25 1. Land Use Changes 25 =09 2. Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry 28 3. Water and Energy Cycles 29 =09 4. The Role of the IAI 30 =09 VI. NEEDS AND PROBLEMS 32 =09 VII. RELATED PROGRAMS 34 =09 VIII. REFERENCES 36 APPENDIX 1: IAI Initial Scientific Themes 39 =09 APPENDIX 2: Acronyms 40 APPENDIX 3: Workshop Participants 41 =46OREWORD This report summarizes the findings of a workshop on Tropical Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles, held April 4-7, 1994, in S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos, Brazil. The workshop was convened by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change (IAI) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil through the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE). This was the fourth workshop held in a thematic series on global change issues. More than 70 scientists from nine countries of the Americas met in plenary the first day and a half to review the current knowledge of the subject. The next two days were spent in group discussions aimed at setting general guidelines and recommendations for a scientific agenda on the theme. Three working groups were established: (1) Land Use Changes, (2) Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry, and (3) Water and Energy Cycles. As with other workshops, the working groups met periodically in plenary to discuss their progress, and then synthesized their findings into a final report. Created in May of 1992, the IAI is designed to evolve into a network of research facilities throughout the Americas which will augment research capabilities and promote education and training within the scientific fields most important to current and future global change research. At this writing, 16 nations have signed the agreement establishing the Institute, recognizing that no one nation can adequately study the complex global environmental mechanisms on this planet. The signatory nations agree that a greater understanding of these mechanisms may be achieved by a regional and international pooling of information. The IAI agreement notes the importance of an evolving scientific agenda that reflects an appropriate balance among the biogeographic areas of scientific importance. It also stresses the need to address in an integral fashion the physical, economic, and social issues relating to global change. Seven broadly defined research topics have been identified as priorities for special focus. To identify the most pressing scientific questions and socioeconomic issues within those seven priority topics, a group of physical and social scientists met in Silver Spring, Maryland, in the United States on March 5-6, 1992. The resulting document, the Report of the Meeting of Scientific Experts, provided the basis for a series of seven workshops on scientific program development, intended to advance the science agenda of the IAI. Besides this workshop on tropical ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles, six others were held on the following subjects: Comparative Studies of Oceanic, Coastal, and Estuarine Processes in Temperate Zones (Montevideo, Uruguay), High Latitude Processes (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Ocean/Land/Atmosphere Interactions in the Inter-Tropical Americas (Panam=E1 City, Panam=E1), ENSO and Interannual Climate Variability (Lima, Per=FA), Temperate Terrestrial Ecosystems (Durham, N.C. USA), and Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity (Guadalajara, M=E9xico). This report on tropical ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles discusses possible plans for scientific strategies and suggests the infrastructure that might be necessary to undertake further investigations. It proposes improvements in regional communication systems and identifies priorities in further education and training. It is only a proposed guide to action. The next step, as stated in the science plan, is to develop an implementation plan, a definite program for the topic. Sincere thanks must be extended to those who helped in organizing the workshop and preparing this report. Special acknowledgment must be given to the local organizing committee for conducting the workshop in S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos. Those committee members were: Dr. Get=FAlio T. Batista, the workshop convener; Dr. Thelma Krug, logistics coordination; Eng. M=E1rcio Nogueira Barbosa, Etel Arbex, C=E9lia R. T. da Silva, Dr. T=E2nia M. Sausen, L=EDgia Froes, Carlos A. Viera, Geol. Paulo R. Martini from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and Dr. Luis Bevilacqua and Simone Scholze from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil. =09 Also acknowledged with much gratitude are those institutions whose contributions allowed the workshop to occur. These include: National Institute for Space Research (INPE, Brazil), National Science and Technology Funding Agency (FINEP, Brazil), Foundation for Science, Technology and Space Applications (FUNCATE, Brazil). Gratitude must also be expressed to Dr. Carlos Nobre from INPE and Dr. Lu=EDs Ant=F4nio Martinelli from the University of S=E3o Paulo for their contribution in the preparation of this report, in addition to the working group chairperson and co-chairperson who led discussions and whose written reports and stimulating verbal contributions ultimately led to the drafting and completion of this report. Additionally, I would like to express my most sincere thanks to Dr. Robert Corell (National Science Foundation), Dr. Michael Hall, James Buizer, Lisa Farrow and Claudia Nierenberg (NOAA/OGP) for their constant enthusiasm and support during the development of this workshop. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm of my staff members, Raquel Gomes, Marcella Ohira and D=E9lia Levandoski, without whose support in preparing this report would have been impossible to accomplish. =09 Rub=E9n Lara Lara IAI Executive Scientist EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This fourth workshop in the thematic series on global change was convened by IAI and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Brazil through the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) . More than 70 scientists from nine countries of the Americas met in plenary the first day and a half to review the current knowledge on the subject of tropical ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The next two days were spent in group discussions aimed at setting general guidelines and recommendations for a scientific agenda on the theme. Presentations in plenaries included discussion of land use changes and their interactions with the carbon-water-energy cycles, exchange of trace gases between ecosystems and the atmosphere, greenhouse gas emissions, ocean-atmosphere-land interactions, paleoclimates in the tropics, and the human dimensions implicated in global change. The socioeconomic aspects and the role of field research and community involvement in global change research relevant to the Americas were also covered. =09 Following the plenaries, participants divided into three working groups: (1) Land Use Changes; (2) Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry; and (3) Water and Energy Cycles. As with other workshops, the working groups met periodically in plenary to discuss their progress. The major findings of the groups were as follows: Land Use Changes =09What are the effects of land use and cover change (LUCC) on biogeochemistry (BGC) water and energy cycles, and in turn, their effect on LUCC? This group decided that special research efforts should be undertaken to define the driving forces, the models, and the scales of this theme. To accomplish this, the following issues need to be clarified: * current land use change distribution of the tropical region * rate and pattern distribution of land cover conversion * knowledge of the effects of LUCC on sustainable development * criteria for measurement of sustainability * models for measurement of sustainability * models for LUCC processes * methods of disseminating information to decision makers The group discussed appropriate scales in spatial and temporal domains, the linkage of IAI action with on-going international programs by examining methods of providing data, and analysis of modeling efforts. UNEP GRID was identified as one prospect for linkage. The group also outlined a framework for integrating regional scale analysis with local case studies through modeling, comparative synthesis and links with BGS and water and energy cycles. This integration would require basin data from remote sensing, physical/natural resource surveys, census, statistics, and field surveys. Important issues such as the need to separate the concept of land cover from land use change were also identified. Land cover change is a function of land use change, and any recommendations regarding LUCC must take the human dimension into account. Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry This group discussed a broad range of issues, including: (a) land-atmosphere interactions (carbon and nutrient cycles); (b) land-water interactions (rivers and lakes, wetlands, coastal and estuarine processes, and ground water); (c) water-atmosphere interactions (coastal, estuarine, oceans); (d) agricultural landscapes (biogeochemical successes and consequences of intensification); (e) functional significance of biodiversity; (f) biogeochemistry of restoration (methodology, evaluation, and consequences); and (g) pollution and contamination. Three sets of priorities were identified: (1) Baseline Studies--Consequences of Land Use Change Important issues are: (a) links of carbon and H2O; (b) links of N.P.S. (bio-elements); (c) physiologically mediated processes (fast processes); (d) decomposition, soil, and ground water (slow processes); (e) trace gas release; (f) links to atmospheric properties, e.;g. radiative balance; and (g) sensitivities to climate. For these studies, systematic data sets are needed and IAI should inventory existing data, facilitate access, and identify further data needs. (2) Biogeochemical Aspects of Restoration: This should include methodology development, regional applicability, monitoring of consequences, and evaluation of outcomes. Since this is a new scientific arena for tropical ecosystems, an additional workshop is suggested for further evaluation. Another priority for inquiry, which further recommends an additional workshop, is "biogeochemical aspects of urbanization". This should include economic and social considerations, impacts on systems, and the need for resources. (3) Future Issues As IAI develops the initial priorities on BGC of the tropics, the following issues should be considered: industrialization, history of land use, biodiversity, human health impacts, water rights and water management, and biotechnology. As a strategy for covering the above priorities, the group proposed transect-based studies across the spectrum of land use types, including comparisons of "pristine" and transformed ecosystems. These studies would function through (1) long-term research in selected sites with intensive process studies in a small network and extensive studies in a larger network; (2) process model development, and (3) case studies with regional applicability. Water and Energy Cycles This working group identified the following scientific questions: (1) What are the relative roles of regional evapo-transpiration and horizontal transport of water vapor in determining precipitation over Amazonia? How are energy and water balances affected by changes in the vegetative cover of the basin? (2) What is the impact of biomass burning on the redistribution of nutrients; modification of regional and global surface temperatures, and regional and global geochemical changes? (3) How do the distributions of soil moisture, climate variability, and other climatic factors control the distribution of biomes in the tropical Americas? (4) What micrometeorological measurements must be made to adequately specify the exchange processes between soil- vegetation and atmosphere? (5) What is required to predict the surface and subsurface hydrologic flows of the Amazon basin? =09 The following policy-relevant questions were identified: (1) Variations in moisture transport out of the Amazon basin can have major impacts on hydro-electric power generation outside the basin (e.g. Itaipu) and present energy policy does not take into account changes in the hydrologic cycle. (2) Quantification of the water and energy cycles in the basin may eventually help to develop sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics. (3) Variations in moisture transport out of the Amazon basin will have major impacts on agricultural practices in the extra tropics (e.g. "cerrado"). (4) Biomass burning in Amazonia has both regional and global policy implications. (5) Transport of industrial contamination (e.g. mining activities) can impact human and agricultural development. Recommendations and the Role of the IAI To meet data collection and management needs, IAI should develop regional and disciplinary data bases using a centralized management to control quality, continuity, archiving, and integration. Priority should be given to compilation of information on national and regional activities, using standardized information and allowing access to data sets through installation of appropriate hardware and software, missing throughout much of the tropics. =09 An assessment of community readiness determined that a basic personnel infrastructure exists to address several issues, but great regional gaps were identified. A need exists for IAI to convene a series of workshops on specifics such as biomass measurements, or biogeochemical aspects of ecosystem restoration (or urbanization). Training and education is also needed for researchers, technicians, and decision makers. There is also a need to guarantee access to Internet not only to improve communication but also to serve as an education tool. Short-term fellowships (1-4 months) for training courses and Doctoral/Post- doctoral fellowships (1-4 years) involving multinational, multicultural research within IAI priorities would be helpful . Outreach to society should include education seminars, production of educational materials, and training for solutions that shows the link between local and global change. Another major finding of this workshop was that IAI should benefit from science planning already in existence, such as the proposal of the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in the Amazon Basin planned for the 1996-98 time frame. This proposal covers some of the scientific priorities identified by the three working groups. IAI could compliment this experiment by coordinating the regional activities and stressing the human dimensions aspects. =09 I. BACKGROUND "Save the rain forest" has been a popular environmental cry for a number of years. Yet few who voice the concern fully appreciate the complex processes underway in tropical ecosystems, and the importance that such areas play in the global atmosphere. Even the scientific world recognizes its lack of understanding of the factors that control fluxes in a broad range of atmospheric gases connected to the tropical Americas. Lacking that understanding makes it difficult to predict how global change, including climate change, land-cover change, and land- use change, will affect future fluxes. Tropical ecosystems of the Americas in the Amazon Basin, Central America, and the Caribbean, encompass the range of terrestrial and marine systems between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. This workshop emphasizes the terrestrial portion of the Amazon system, but recognizes the role of the other tropical systems in terms of their regional importance, breadth of our existing knowledge, and interest in comparative studies. These regions must be addressed separately. The Need for Research The Amazon Basin represents a unique natural laboratory, containing rain forest, savannah, and cerrado. With an area of six million square kilometers, it contains the largest stand of tropical rain forest in the world and contributes 20 per cent of the global river discharge to the oceans. It is a classic river basin, with a central plain bordered by highlands and a terrestrial drainage network within which the main stream and its extensive flood plain receive inputs from a series of different- sized tributaries. It is mostly undisturbed by anthropogenic activity and represents a series of hydrological and chemical regimes which are typical of world rivers. One of the most publicized linkages between global change and the Amazon basin is the emission of greenhouse gases, particularly the carbon dioxide associated with the burning of vegetation. But these emissions are also symptomatic of the broader issues of the natural hydrological and biogeochemical cycles in the basin, which ultimately must support, and are in turn affected by, human development. The tropical soils and vegetation are thought to represent globally significant sources of a broad range of atmospheric gases, including reactive hydrocarbons, CO, N2O, NO, and CH4. What are the effects of land conversion on trace gas fluxes, ecosystem carbon dynamics, and the oxidizing potential of the atmosphere? Land use changes can also have significant socioeconomic impacts through changes in soil fertility and agricultural sustainability in the tropical areas. Global Implications The Amazon basin, because of its size and equatorial position, is a major heat source for the general circulation of the atmosphere. Changes in land cover will alter the exchange processes of sensible and latent heat and momentum between the surface and the adjacent atmosphere. If large changes in land cover occur in the future in the Amazon, it may change the general circulation of the atmosphere, promoting climatic changes on a global scale (Dickinson, 1984; Dickinson and Henderson-Sellers, 1988). Therefore it becomes important to understand how these exchanges take place when land surface covers change. And such changes are expected as populations continue to increase. By the year 2000 the world's population is expected to reach 6.2 billion, up from some 5.6 billion today. Half the total, some 3.1 billion, will be living in less-developed countries which are generally located in the tropics. The consequences of this steadily increasing population in these areas has already been experienced in the form of deterioration of the urban environment and devastation of the tropical forests. Important issues related to deforestation include the increase in sediment yield from deforested land, and the general disruption of nutrient cycling between land and water (Lean and Warrilow, 1989; Nobre and Sellers, 1990). Any attempt to develop these humid tropical areas on a sustainable basis must be preceded by a thorough understanding of the dynamics of water and sediment on a watershed basis. A separate Inter-American Institute (IAI) workshop has been held on the subject of biodiversity, but the functional significance of biodiversity in tropical ecosystems interested this workshop as well. Available data indicate that the Americas support a disproportionate share of the world's species of organisms for many major taxonomic groups and an exceptionally rich array of ecosystems. Latin America alone supports more than a third of the world's plant species and a high percentage of the world's bird and mammal species. The Caribbean is the second richest coastal region in the world for marine biota. All the economies of the Americas are strongly based on the utilization of their biotic resources. The biodiversity that is stored in the ecosystems of the Americas represents an untapped resource of incalculable socio-economic and biological value to future generations. Humans are a powerful force on the planet, with the power to drastically alter and degrade ecosystems. The challenge is to develop and maintain into the future the scientific capability to assess and respond to changing conditions. Long-term research in response to the issues listed above should result in the capability to synthesize existing information and predict possible consequences of alternative land-use practices. Such information should then be used in long-term planning. II. THE CURRENT STATE OF KNOWLEDGE Change is nothing new to the Amazon region. Evidence from core sediment samples obtained at Katira, in the southern Amazonian state of Rondonia, shows this presently forested area was dominated by grassland during the last glacial period. Carbon dating coupled with pollen diagram analyses show that an early rain forest was replaced by savanna about 40,000 years ago, and that in turn was replaced by rain forest nearly 20,000 years before the present. Pollen analysis in the Caraj=E1s mountain range at the eastern edge of the present Amazonian forest suggests the occurrence of two drier periods when savannas extended, alternating with wetter intervals when forest dominated and the levels of permanent lakes in the area were high. During the Holocene, vegetative changes detected in Amazonia were associated with marked changes in rainfall which caused higher and lower flooding levels on the Amazon River (Absy et al., 1989). Human effects on the area are also not entirely new. Many areas previously thought to be "virgin" are now understood to be anthropogenic. What is different with contemporary impacts are the unprecedented rates and spatial scales of alteration to the terrestrial environment. Recent deforestation is now becoming a factor in altering the ecosystem structure of certain sub-basins, where potential regional impacts include changes in hydrology and sediment and nutrient transport. Some of these impacts extend far beyond the region of their origin. The Amazon is one of the largest evaporative basins on earth. There is evidence, derived both from classical hydrometeorological and isotope hydrology studies, that the basin itself plays a major role in water recycling within the basin. Roughly 50 per cent of the precipitation in the basin is re- evaporated water from the basin itself. Computer simulations indicate that replacement of the forest by shorter vegetation such as pasture and crops may lead to reduction in evapotranspiration and precipitation, and an increase in temperature over a very wide area. Thus, the very existence of the forest may depend on the influence it exerts on the precipitation. The magnitude of the process is such that the water and energy balances of the Amazon affect neighboring regions and even global scale processes ("Global Tropospheric Experiment/Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment", 1988). Reliable numbers for deforestation and habitat fragmentation exist for the Brazilian Amazon. Poorly known and probably variable by region are the effects of deforestation on rainfall recycling and nutrient stocks. The oldest agricultural frontier of the Brazilian Amazon, east of Belem, is more than 65 per cent covered by secondary forests, part of a continuing short-fallow shifting agriculture. An indicator of rainfall recycling capacity is the leaf area index (LAI), reportedly 5.0 for these secondary forests at 4-5 years of age, very near the value of 5.7 forLAI in primary forest near Manaus. The numbers suggest little difference in rainfall between primary forest and fragmented, partly cropped, secondary forest. Wood harvesting facilitates biomass burning, but fires have also occurred naturally over the millennia (Tans et al., 1990). During the 1982-83 El Ni=F1o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), in drier parts of the Amazon Basin near Santar=E9m and near the Bel=E9m/Bras=EDlia Highway, fires penetrated into dense primary forest where mechanized wood harvesting had taken place. Landsat images indicated that the fires penetrated well beyond the limits of skidder trails, indicating that infrequent fires have happened in the past without the catalytic effect of intensive logging. Natural variability in forest density and variability due to human effects must be carefully quantified before science can claim to perceive the long distance effects of human deforestation on basin-wide rainfall and runoff, or of trace gases on productivity of tropical forests. Uncertain as well are the possible effects of temperature changes, in the event of global warming, on the tropical ecosystems (further information on the state of knowledge can be acquired from Salati, 1985; Detwiler and Hall, 1988; Fearnside, 1990a,b,1992; Houghton, 1991; Erwin, 1988). III. ISSUES AND PRIORITIES It was suggested at the workshop that tropical ecosystems could be broken down into five major topics of study in the process of advancing the scientific agenda on this subject. Those five major subjects are as follows: (1) Land-Atmosphere Interactions: Despite the importance of tropical soils and vegetation as sources of atmospheric gases such as CO, N2O, and CH4, the scientific community lacks a quantitative understanding of the exchange of these gases between land and the atmosphere. Lacking this understanding makes it difficult to predict how changes in climate and land cover might affect these exchanges. How, for example, might changes affect the capacity of tropical ecosystems to store carbon? =09 Addressing these topics requires an improved understanding of the following: (1) carbon stocks in the vegetation and soils of "undisturbed" ecosystems, especially tropical forests; (2) the dynamics of carbon flux from the land to the atmosphere associated with forest clearing for agriculture; (3) the rate of tropical forest clearing for agriculture; (4) the rate of carbon accumulation on land associated with forest regrowth following the abandonment of agriculture. (2) Land-Water Interactions Drainage basins are natural units of the terrestrial landscape and they have served as important research foci in studies of the environment. Two primary topics were suggested for research on land-water interactions: (1) the movement of carbon and nutrients between land and =09 water, and (2) the processing of carbon and nutrients in water systems. (3) The Functional Significance of Biodiversity How important are individual species to the biogeochemical integrity of an ecosystem? Studies of the functional significance of biodiversity can be done in forests that have undergone selective harvest or in lakes where a fish species has been harvested to extinction. Alternatively they can be done in ecosystems that have been "invaded" by an exotic species. (4) The Biogeochemical Aspects of Ecosystem Restoration Humans have the power to drastically degrade ecosystems and attempts have been made to restore damaged ecosystems. But restoration is complex and difficult. What is the "end state" of a restoration? How do we know if it is sustainable? Restoration could play an important role in the management of tropical ecosystems in the future, be it forest lands that have been degraded by poor harvesting practices, rivers polluted by mining activities, or coastal ecosystems damaged by careless urban development. A key challenge is to develop biogeochemical indices to evaluate the success of ecosystem restoration efforts. (5) Element Interactions and Sustainable Development In order to meet the growing demands for food and fiber in tropical regions, some fraction of the current area of natural ecosystems must come under intensive management. If managed well, the need to exploit the remaining natural ecosystems may be diminished. If, on the other hand, they are managed poorly they will be unable to meet the demands placed on them and more natural ecosystems will have to be converted to human use. With knowledge of the interaction of element cycles such as the interaction between C, N, and P, the degradation of managed systems might be minimized and perhaps more natural systems could be preserved. After plenary sessions reviewing the issues facing tropical ecosystems, the workshop divided into three active working groups: =09 (1) Land Use Change (2) Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry (3) Water and Energy Cycles Following are some of the results of their discussions. Land Use Change Land cover change is one of the more important components of global change. It has an important influence on hydrology, climate, and global biogeochemical cycles. In addition to its importance as a driving variable, it is also an important aspect of global change in its own right. Arguably, in the broadest sense of global change, land cover change will be more important than climate change over the next 20 to 50 years. Moreover, it is land cover change which directly affects human habitability. It is an issue with far-reaching policy implications, either internationally, nationally, or locally. Indeed, land cover change is as inextricably linked to policy and sustainable development as it is to basic research issues. The over-arching/organizing theme is: What are the effects of land use and cover change (LUCC) on biogeochemistry (BGC), water and energy cycles, and in turn their effect on LUCC? Special research efforts should be placed to define the driving forces, the models and the scales of this theme. We must improve our knowledge of the following: =09 (a) land use change distribution over the tropical Americas, (b) rate and pattern distribution of land cover conversion, (c) effects of LUCC on sustainable development, (d) criteria for measurement of sustainability, (e) models for LUCC processes. We must also determine the best means of disseminating information to decision makers. This working group discussed appropriate scales in spatial and temporal domains, and the linkage of IAI action with on-going international programs by examining the data provision efforts, analysis and modeling efforts. The group also outlined a framework designed to integrate regional scale analysis with local case studies through modeling, comparative synthesis and links with BGC, and observation of water and energy cycles. This information could be based on input data from remote sensing, physical/natural resource surveys, census statistics and field work surveys. It was deemed important to separate the concept of land cover from land use change. Land use change by humans alters land cover, which in turn may alter the characteristics of the area itself, such as altering precipitation, drying out the soil, etc. Therefore, LUCC constitutes global change and even though it is a major cross cutting theme to BGC, water and energy cycles studies, it was concluded that it has its own right to be on the IAI agenda. Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry The broad range of issues discussed here included: (a) land-atmosphere interactions such as carbon and nutrient cycles, (b) land-water interactions (rivers and lakes, wetland processes, coastal and estuarine processes, and ground water), (c) water-atmosphere interactions (coastal, estuarine, and oceans), (d) agricultural landscapes (biogeochemical successes, consequences of intensification), (e) functional significance of biodiversity (conservation of function, functions of species), (f) biogeochemistry of restoration (methodology, evaluation, conse- quences), and (g) pollution and contamination. Three sets of priorities were identified: I. Baseline studies--Consequences of Land Use Change: Important issues are: (a) links of C and H2O, (b) links of N, P, S (bio-elements), (c) physiologically mediated processes (fast processes), (d) decomposition, soil and ground water (slow processes), (e) trace gas release (CH4, N2O, reactive gases), (f) links to atmospheric properties (e.g. radiative balance), (g) sensitivities to climate (baseline models and experiments). For these studies, systematic data sets are needed and IAI should make inventory of existing data, facilitate access, and identify further needs of data gathering. II. Biogeochemical Aspects of Restoration: This should include methodology development, regional applicability, monitoring of consequences, and evaluation of outcomes. As a new scientific area for the tropical ecosystems, there is a need for an additional workshop to further evaluate this priority item. Another priority is the "biogeochemical aspects of urbanization" which should include economic and social aspects, impacts on systems, and needs for resources. Again, there is a need for another workshop to develop this item further. III. Future Issues: As IAI develops its initial priorities on BGC in the tropics the issues worth considering should include industrialization, history of land use, biodiversity, human health impacts, water rights and management (quantity and quality), and biotechnology. Water and Energy Cycles The specification of the cycles of water and energy are fundamental to the understanding of any ecosystem. In tropical ecosystems the hydrological cycle is intimately tied to energy transformation processes, such as the transformation of radiant energy from the sun into latent energy of water vapor. This process is especially important in tropical rainforest environments, where evapotranspiration from forest trees can amount to a major fraction of the total moisture condensed as rainfall. This working group determined that important issues included evapo-transpiration and horizontal transport of water vapor as important players in precipitation over Amazonia. The effects of land use changes and biomass burning were also discussed and appropriate research questions devised (discussed later in this report). =09 The group also identified the following policy-relevant issues: (1) Variations in the moisture transport out of the Amazon basin can have major impacts on hydro-electric power generation outside the basin (e.g. Itaipu hydro-electric power plant in southern Brazil) and present energy policy does not take into account changes in the hydrologic cycle. (2) Quantification of the water and energy cycles in the basin may eventually help to develop sustainable agriculture in the humid tropics. (3) Variations in moisture transport out of the Amazon basin will have major impacts on agricultural practices in the extra tropics. (4) Biomass burning in Amazonia has both regional and global policy implications (e.g. human health, agriculture, transportation, global climate). (5) Transport of industrial contamination (e.g. mining activities) can impact human and agricultural development. The three groups concurred in plenary that in terms of data collection and management needs, IAI should develop regional and disciplinary data bases using a centralized management for archival continuity, integration, and quality control. Priority should be given to initiating a compilation of information on national and regional activities, with standardization of information across countries and followed by accessibility to data sets through installation of appropriate hardware and software, a major need in the tropical region as a whole. =09 IV. RESEARCH QUESTIONS =09 The driving force of the workshop, as suggested to participants, was not curiosity about how nature works, but the need to figure out how tropical ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles are changing so that society can do something about minimizing adverse impacts. Studies of fundamental ecosystem processes are critical, but the studies should be linked to solutions, even though those solutions may be decades away. The following research questions were proposed in connection with discussions by the working groups. Land Use Changes This working group identified seven basic scientific questions around which a research program in land use and cover change could be focused. The emphasis was on tropical forest ecosystems. All of these questions fall within the following over- arching organizing question:What are the effects of land use and cover change on biogeochemistry and water and energy cycles, and in turn what are their effects on land use and cover change? The seven research questions are: (1) What is the current distribution of land cover and how can it best be described and mapped for analysis of biogeochemical cycles, water balance and energy fluxes? This question must be considered at two scales of analysis. First, at fine scales from 1:100,000 to 1:500,000 for the precise quantification of land cover conversions, such as deforestation, and for use in planning and policy analysis. Second, at coarse scales of l:1,000,000 to l:5,000,000 for regional assessments, analysis of vegetation dynamics, and the like. (2) What are the rate and temporal dynamics of land cover change, considered over a range of time scales, including: --the paleonological record (scale of -103 years) --the historical record (scale of -102 years) --the contemporary record (scale of -101 years) --inter-annual dynamics (scale of -100 years) --seasonal dynamics (scale of -10-1 years) (3) What is the relationship between land cover change and land use change? This question calls forward several important and necessary ancillary questions, in particular, how do changes in land use drive land cover change? To pursue this question, it is necessary to know what suite of human activities affect land use and cover change at different scales, from within and outside the region of analysis. It will be important to develop a method of comparative analyses, whereby different conditions and driving forces in different locations can be compared and contrasted. (4) What is the relationship between LUCC and economic and national development at different scales? And, how are LUCC processes coupled to regional sustainable development? (5) What are the appropriate criteria for measurement and evaluation of sustainability of various land uses and land use practices, measured in terms of biogeochemistry and water and energy balance? (6) What is the best approach to the development of models of the LUCC process, which provides credible spatial and temporal predictions? (7) How can basic information on LUCC and model results be put into the hands of decision makers working at a range of scales from the community to the international arena? Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry The most important question may be: How does tropical forest conversion, selective logging, agricultural practice and abandonment, and secondary sucession influence regional trace gas fluxes, carbon and nutrients dynamics, and the prospect of sustainable land use? Subsidiary questions could include, but should not be limited to: (1) Are tropical forest regions net sources or sinks for carbon, and what is the size of the flux? (2) How much carbon is stored in forest biomass and soils? (3) Are land conversion/management practices in tropical systems a significant cause of increases in atmospheric N2O? (4) What are the long-term impacts of land conversion on the agricultural and ecological sustainability of the Amazon Basin? (5) What is the subsidy for agriculture and pastures that nature provides in nutrients released by biomass burning? (6) What is the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function and its potential cost as a function of land use? What is the role of tropical ecosystems deforestation and consequent land management practices on atmosphere- biosphere exchange rates for greenhouse gases, N2O, and CH4, and for gases important to atmospheric chemistry (NO, O3, CO, non- methane hydrocarbons)? IAI should address important uncertainties concerning the ecological and biogeochemcial processes, specially the controlling of carbon and trace gas dynamics in converted ecosystems. The role of secondary vegetation on the region's carbon balance is unkown. Information on regrowth rate, the controls on carbon accumulation, the spatial distribution and extent of various age classes of regrowth, and species involved and their recruitment rate need to be understood. Better measures of the above and below ground biomass of these ecosystems are needed. Research efforts should also emphasize natural ecosystems and their repsonse to pertubations due to human acitivities and to climate changes on carbon dynamics and net carbon storage, sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4), taking into account the associated ecological controls and climate feedbacks through the Amazon biota. Ecological studies should focus on the definition of rates of key biological processes and on the determination of functional relationship with environmental conditions, to elucidate the factors that regulate net rates of exchange of important gases with soils and vegetation. Ecological and soil studies at various sites should be coupled with ecological simulation models to be combined with satellite-derived and other sources of land use data, to obtain improved estimates of regional fluxes of important gases. Answers to these questions will require the integration of physical, biological, and socioeconomic studies at local to global scales. Water and Energy Cycles =09 The priority scientific questions related to hydrological and energy cycles in tropical ecosystems are: (1) What are the relative roles of regional evapotranspiration and horizontal transport of water vapor in determining precipitation over Amazonia? How are the energy and water balances affected by changes in the vegetation cover? =09 This question is central to determining whether a major deforestation in Amazonia will change the rainfall distribution and if such a change will affect the larger-scale circulation of the tropical atmosphere. Although several studies suggest that complete deforestation will increase surface temperatures, the effect on precipitation is less clear. Characteristics of the rainfall, such as the length of the dry season, may be more important than the total amount of rainfall. (2) What is the impact of biomass burning on: (a) the redistribution of nutrients (b) modification of regional and global surface temperatures (c) regional and global geochemical changes. Modern-day burning is often cited as a major source of atmospheric carbon dioxide, but the burning and prevailing near- surface winds during the dry season may also transport nutrients out of Amazonia. The effect of biomass burning on both regional and global temperatures needs further study, using more realistic estimates (in space and time) of the burning. Local temperature effects of burning have not been well documented, nor have changes in the geochemical cycling of nutrients or burning by- products. (3) How do the distributions of soil moisture, climate variability, and other climatic factors control the distribution of biomass in the tropical Americas? An understanding of how climatic factors determine the nature of the present Amazonian vegetation is basic to studies of possible change in vegetation resulting from Amazonian deforestation. We do not know, for example, why the cerrado to moist forest transition occurs where it does. The relative importance of soil moisture, soil composition, total annual rainfall, length of dry season and other parameters in determining this boundary is not well known. As for certain key species, their distributions are likely affected by the occurrence ofrare events, such as frost or fires that may not be indicated by mean statistics. (4) What micrometeorological measurements/processes must be made (understood) to adequately specify the soil- vegetation/atmosphere exchange processes? Although several campaigns have been carried out that have made basic micro-meteorological measurements in the moist forests of Amazonia, some important gaseous exchanges occur beneath the surface and others occur in regimes other than the terra firme forest. (5) What is required to predict the surface and subsurface =09 hydrologic flows of the Amazon Basin? The Amazon and its tributaries undergo large annual variations in streamflow. Although this streamflow is monitored reasonably well, forecasts are less reliable. Just what information is needed to model the streamflow accurately is a basic hydrological question. Are rainfall measurements adequate? Is subsurface flow well-represented? =09 V.APPROACH Advancing the understanding of tropical ecosystems and biogeochemical processes requires not only a research strategy, but also a frank look at the resources available in trained personnel, equipment, and facilities. Following are suggestions of both needs and possible strategies from each of the working groups. Land Use Changes It is possible to approach the study of land cover and land cover change from two perspectives: (1) What is the terrestrial distribution of albedo, surface roughness, and evapotranspiration, and how do these characteristics determine the role of terrestrial systems in climate, water balance, and energy flux? (2) What and where are the terrestrial sources and sinks of radiatively important gases, such as carbon dioxide? The major difference between the two perspectives is that the first depends on the distribution of different types of ecosystems while the second requires information on changes in both the biophysical aspects of land cover and its geographic distribution, and rates and location of significant conversions from one type cover to another. It is reasonable to expect that the former would be best suited to land cover mapping using satellite data with high temporal frequency and moderate spatial resolution, such as AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer). The latter would require considerably higher spatial resolution data with lower temporal resolutions, such as Landsat or Spot. Land cover change is a major cross-cutting theme in most aspects of biogeochemistry in tropical ecosystems. From a research point of view it is necessary to consider how human activities affect land cover change when one considers research agendas for the study of biogeochemistry, terrestrial ecology, and water and energy cycles--the topics of the other two working groups. Although there exist many questions relating to the biogeochemistry and water and energy dynamics for steady state undisturbed tropical ecosystems, many new and important questions are now emerging which relate to the transient conditions initiated when humans convert natural land covers to managed land covers. This focus on land cover change emphasizes the point that to fully understand land cover change as an agent of global change it will be necessary to understand the relationship between land use and land cover change. This means that we must also include in a basic research program the analysis of the driving forces of land cover change, emphasizing how changes in land use influence changes in land cover. To understand the differences between land cover change and land use change it is important to define land cover, land cover change, and land use. Land cover is the actual distribution of vegetation, water, desert, ice, and other physical features of the land, including those created by human activities. Land cover change concerns conversion changes from one cover type to another, such as the conversion of forest to pasture. Conversion is not always so straightforward, and should be distinguished from land cover transformation, which is the significant modification within a single cover type or the gradual, long-term modification of one cover type to another. The transformation of a closed canopy forest to a palm forest or woodlands as a result of long-term degradation by humans, is a form of transformation. The transformation of forests due to climate change or through air pollution are other examples. Transformation involves alterations of structure or function without a wholesale change from one type to another, although long-term and chronic transformation would eventually result in complete conversion. Land cover conversion operates through specific processes over time. For instance, deforestation is a process which converts forest to pasture. Abandonment of pasture sites can then lead to regrowth into secondary forest. Thus, processes such as deforestation and desertification mediate the conversion or transformation of land cover from one type to another. These processes can be envisioned as forcing functions, which have both magnitude (rate of deforestation) and direction (forest usually becomes pasture). Land use itself characterizes the human use of a land cover type. Forests, for instance could be used by foresters (selective logging), rubber tappers, or not at all. Grasslands can be used as grazing land. Land use change is frequently concomitant with land cover conversion; For instance, the conversion of forest to pasture occurs in an effort to convert the land use from rubber tapping to cattle ranching. An effort to make available existing data from maps would be a useful supporting role for IAI (see subsection below, "The Role of the IAI"). The following general steps would be necessary: --identify or catalog existing land cover maps and data sources; --develop a means to harmonize these into a consistent classification or framework such that data from different countries could be merged or used interchangeably for a region- wide map; and --encode the paper maps into a geographic information system. Another important input of information would be the rate and pattern of land cover conversion. However, documentation of land cover conversions, such as deforestation, requires high resolution satellite data. Several projects are underway to develop these datasets and produce GIS-based deforestation maps. Most of these efforts are focused on closed forests. A regional cooperative effort to acquire and map land cover conversion from high resolution data would be helpful. The INPE regional cooperation to develop a Pan Amazon deforestation assessment is a good model (Martini, 1992). The results of analyzing and eventually modeling land use and cover change should be incorporated into environmentally and policy-relevant initiatives on sustainable development. Such analyses can provide the technical and scientific underpinnings to an evaluation of various land use or development alternatives. But first it is necessary to develop the specific requirements for measurement, through regional workshops and pilot studies in different regions and environmental conditions. Ecosystems Processes and Biogeochemistry General suggestions for an approach to improving biogeochemical understanding of tropical South America were made as follows: (1) Development of accessible data bases of relevant climatic, hydrological and ecological data. Although many such data reside in various institutes and agencies, few are generally available. =46urthermore, to be useful for modeling and comparative analyses, an integrated relational data base would need information about data quality and measurement methods. (2) Establishment of a network of collection sites for atmospheric deposition and stream water, with high quality analyses of the chemical composition with associated quality control and quality assurance criteria applied. (3) Development of mechanistic models of key biogeochemical processes. (4) Development of spatially distributed models that incorporate mechanistic models and landscape patterns. (5) Further improvement of remote sensing algorithms for features such as inundation, burning, greenness, and land uses. (6) Further paleoecological analyses to decipher past climates as a guide to changes in the future. The unraveling of ecosystems processes and biogeo- chemistry requires the wide participation and cooperation of trained people. Acting as local team leaders should be those trained at the highest scientific level, mainly from universities and research institutions. Working with them should be well- trained technicians and graduate students pursuing thesis work. To further training and add to the ranks of participants, graduate studies should be facilitated for university professors and researchers, and appropriate training provided for technicians. The importance of research funding should be communicated clearly and frequently to the national scientific community, to politicians and decision makers, and to the general public. Support materials and facilities should be enhanced as well. Laboratories and their equipment should be upgraded. Scientific libraries should be provided with the best collections of books and journals, with the best updated materials translated into Spanish. There should be continuous publication of papers and related scientific articles in local, regional, and international journals. The most active and high profile universities and research institutions should become actively involved in international groups such as IAI. Local scientists from multidisciplinary fields should participate in international seminars and workshops. Water and Energy Cycles This group felt that there exists an adequate basic personnel infrastructure that can be employed to address questions related to water and energy cycles. However, the productivity of many individuals may increase if they have access to additional training or education. Readiness of the scientific community can be considered in two parts: 1. Required Tools and Resources for Research (a) There is a lack of meteorological and hydrological observing systems for the development of adequate data bases (varies country by country). Adequate measurements are necessary to perform any reliable analyses of the hydrological cycle. The current rawinsonde network over Amazonia is sparse and not adequate for studies of many meteorological processes. Moisture budgets for subdivisions of Amazonia cannot be reliably performed until more observations are routinely made. The rain gauge network may be adequate for estimates of the annual mean rainfall, but estimates for periods of a month or less are not reliable. (b) Often the problem may be inadequate knowledge as to what is operating in the field. One problem with the observing network is that it is subject to unpredictable failures and the status at any particular time is often unclear. A current status report is needed for all meteorological stations in the region so that additional observing sites can be optimally located. 2. Education and Training Needs (a) The implementation and use of observing systems. Mobile or special field observing systems are not widely used in Amazonia, and additional equipment is needed. Training to use this equipment is also needed to make the best use of what is available. Portable micrometeorological towers, tethered sounding systems, radiosonde systems and other meteorological instrumentation should be available to the research community. (b) Special education in the analysis and assimilation of field observations. Special courses are needed to train investigators in how to interpret field-collected data. The instrument response and error characteristics of observing platforms and the natural variability of the environment are often not understood by researchers using field instrumentation for the first time. Different analysis techniques for analyzing field observations are also poorly understood by otherwise capable scientists who have not been involved in field studies. (c) The development and utilization of models. Complicated processes operating in hydrological and/or meteorological systems can be evaluated through the use of numerical models that attempt to represent these physical processes. Widespread use of models for research has been hampered by lack of resources, lack of realistic data to initialize such models, and lack of personnel trained to use such models. (d) Geographic Information System training. GIS systems can rapidly display and analyze information from digital databases. =46amiliarity with such systems is needed for aspects of land use/land cover, hydrological and meteorological/climatological analysis. The Role of the IAI A regionwide program to advance scientific knowledge requires some central means of coordination, a role that could be played by the Inter-American Institute. Workshop participants suggested that the IAI encourage and coordinate opportunities in education, training, additional workshops, and exchange visits between scientists and academic institutions. Specific undertakings could include the following: --advocate and promote the acquisition, harmonization, and distribution of common data; --coordinate inter-regional case studies and field studies; --initiate a series of efforts to build a common land cover dataset from AVHRR, Landsat, and existing maps. To this end, IAI should convene a series of focused workshops as follows: (1) A workshop on datasets with the following objectives: --compile a list of existing data; --develop the mechanism for coordination of existing and new datasets; --identify new initiatives for the acquisition of new data; --develop guidelines and recommendations for the sharing and distribution of data. Prior to the workshop the IAI should commission a survey of existing and near future datasets and data acquisition programs. The output from this commissioned survey would be a white paper which, in turn, would be used as input to the above workshop. (2) A workshop focused on the development of case studies with the following objectives: --to identify the current state-of-the-art activities; --to begin definition of the case study approach and methods, and the number and location of individual case studies; --to develop the mechanism by which case studies can scale to regional analyses and can be used comparatively with case studies outside the region. =09 (3) A workshop focused on the development of LUCC models, with the following objectives: --identification of state of the art models of the land cover conversion process, focusing on deforestation; --development of specific approaches and methods applicable in the region. VI. NEEDS AND PROBLEMS The key components of global change research, namely personnel and communication of results, require consistent and long term investment in education and training. A severe limitation for global change research in the focus region of Amazonia is the lack of researchers, particularly field-oriented ones. Part of the problem is that the number of global change researchers in Amazonian countries is tiny and most of these researchers are based outside Amazonia, in major cities such as S=E3o Paulo, Lima, and Caracas. Many scientists are discipline-bound and have problems in adapting to the interdisciplinary approach necessary for global change research. The training of most field scientists is focused on local scales; regional and global perspectives are often lacking. Ecosystem research is uncommon in Amazonia, in part due to academic orientation; in Brazil, the few graduate programs in ecology teach primarily a population/community perspective. Scientists must be educators for their societies, particularly in Latin America. Publishing papers in scientific journals is not enough. Traditional research operates with the unspoken assumption that scientific knowledge acquired through research will be used by society. Such an assumption breaks down in many developing countries, often because an enormous intellectual gap separates global change scientists from large segments of the population. Research must be solution-oriented to address regional needs, and education of national populations as to these needs and the possible solutions becomes a critical factor. Long-term financial and social commitments will be required to increase the number and quality of researchers. Some key priorities are as follows: (a) Develop in Amazonia competent researchers with field orientation for ecosystem studies and that can work with the decision makers for land use--particularly peasants, forest residents, loggers, miners, and ranchers. (b) Start this training at Amazonian universities through research programs that involve undergraduates and professors. The time- scale of this training is on the order of a decade (i.e., an undergraduate becoming a Ph.D. researcher). (c) Develop literature in local languages that explain global change research. Such literature serves to help local, state, and national leaders understand what information the research can provide and how it can be applied. (d) Provide short courses/seminars about global change for journalists, television reporters, and other communicators. Education is essential to inform national societies about global change. VII. RELATED PROGRAMS Up and running already on issues relevant to IAI is the International Geosphere Biosphere Program--Human Dimension Program (IGBP-HDP) core project on Land Use/Land Cover Change. The Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) is an organization set up to manage data on global change, including data from the U.S. space program which is very interested in managing social science data related to global change in the IAI region. The NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) mission is a large-scale, long-term program dedicated to observing and determining the biophysical basis for human-induced global change. Within the overall structure of EOS, there exists an on going interdisciplinary project in the Amazon region in collaboration between the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) and the University of Washington with the overall goal of determining, how extensive land use change in the Amazon would modify the routing of water and its chemical load from precipitation, through the drainage system, and back to the atmosphere and to the ocean and to determine how these changes affect the carbon cycle. The research focuses on: 1. Modeling the transport and distribution of water, sediment and biogenic chemicals along the Amazon valley network; 2. Modeling the transfer of biogenic gases between the land surface and the atmosphere and mobilization of bioactive dissolved and particulate matter from the land surface through the river system to the ocean. 3. Analysis of Amazon vegetation and its interaction with climate, hydrology, and land use. A number of universities may have programs focusing on the human dimensions of global change and could serve as facilitators in both research and training efforts. Indiana University has created ACT--Anthropological Center for Training and Research on global change, dedicated to work on the human dimensions. The center is not narrowly anthropological but broadly interdisciplinary, including physical, biological, and social scientists working in tandem on studies of Amazonian and Yucatan secondary successional changes and carbon cycling as affected by human activities. Rutgers University and the University of Georgia at Athens have programs with environmental social science foci that can and are addressing research of global environmental change. Faculty at Rutgers seem to address deforestation in Ecuador and coastal management issues and common property resource management. The faculty at Georgia is examining issues of history, agriculture, and development. VIII. REFERENCES References Cited Absy, M. T., et al, 1989: Data on the history of vegetation and climate in Caraj=E1s, Eastern Amazonia. pp. 129-131. In: Special Publication No. 1 Program, Abstracts and General Information. International Symposium on Global Changes in South America during the Quaternary: Past-Present-Future. S=E3o Paulo, Brazil.- Detwiler, R. P. and Hall, C. A. S., 1988: Tropical forests and the global carbon cycle. Science 239: 42-47. Dickinson, R. E., 1984: Modeling evapotranspiration for three- dimensional global climate models. Climate Processes and Climate Sensitivity. Geophys. Monogr., No. LF29, Am. Geophys. Union. pp. 58-72. Dickinson, R. E. and Henderson-Sellers, 1988: Modeling tropical deforestation: a study of GCM land surface parameterizations. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 114(B): 439-462. Erwin, T., 1988: The tropical forest canopy: The heart of biotic diversity. In: E. O. Wilson, Biodiversity, pp. 123-129. National Academy of Sciences Press. Washington, D.C. =46earnside, P. M., 1990a: Environmental change and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. In: Hemming, J., ed. Change in the Amazon Basin: man's impact on forests and rivers. Manchester University Press. Manchester, England. =46earnside, P. M., 1990b: Environmental Destruction in the Brazilian Amazon. In: Goodman, D. and Hall, eds. 1990. The Future of the Amazon: Destruction or Sustainable Development. Macmillan. London, England. Houghton, R. A., 1991: Tropical deforestation and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Climatic Change 19: 99-118. Lean, J. and D. A. Warrilow, 1989: Climatic Impact of Amazon deforestation. Nature, 342, 311-313. Martini, P. R., 1992: Pan Amazonia Project: An Executive Report, Special Edition ISY - World Forest Watch. No.2. Nobre, C. A. and P. J. Sellers, 1990: Amazonia deforestation and climate change. Science, 247, 1322-1325. Salati, E.,1985:The climatology and hydrology of Amazonia. pp.18- 48. In: Amazonia. Prance, G. T. and T. Lovejoy, eds. Pergamon Press. Oxford, Engl. Tans, P. P., I. Y. Fung, T. Takahashi, 1990: Observational constraints on the global atmospheric CO2 budget. Science 247: 1431-1438. Suggested Readings American Geophysical Union, 1988: "Global Tropospheric Experiment - Amazon Boundary Layer Experiment (GTE/ABLE 2A)". Special Issue of the Journal of Geopohysical Research. Batista, G.T., J.E. Richey. 1990: The Earth Observing System Approach for Amazonia. International Symposium on Primary Data Acquisition, Manaus. Part 1a, p. 11-15. Crutzen, P.J., Andreae, M.O., 1990: Biomass burning in the tropics: impact on atmospheric chemistry and biogeochemical cycles. Science. (No.4988):1669-78. Hobish, M.K.; Ardanuy, P.E., Salomonson, V.V.1994: Surface imaging technologies for NASA's Earth observing system. Journal of Imaging Science and Technology (no.4):301-10. IGBP, 1992. Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems: The Operational Plan. Edited by W. L. Steffen, B. H. Walker, J. S. Ingram and G. W. Koch. IGBP Report no. 21. Published by IGBP Secretariat, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Box 50005,S-10405 Stockholm, Sweden. Kristiansen, G. 1993: Biological effects of climate change: an introduction to the field and survey of current research. GCTE/IGBP. Published by IGBP Secretariat, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Box 50005, S-10405. Stockholm, Sweden. Jones, B. 1993: Organic Geochemistry: an electronic information exchange for organic geochemistry and related fields of study. Computers & Geosciences, (no. 4): 617-18. Matson, P.A., Vitousek, P.M., Livingston, G.P., Swanberg, N.A. 1990: Sources of variation in nitrous oxide flux from Amazonian ecosystems. Journal of Geophysical Research (no.D10):16789-98. Robinson, J.M., 1991: Fire from space: global fire evaluation using infrared remote sensing. International Journal of Remote Sensing. (no.1):3-24. Schier, M., Way, J., Holt, B.1993: Applications of the EOS SAR to monitoring global change. Space Technology. (no.6): 569-75. Sharp, J. H., 1991: Review of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorusbiogeochemistry. Reviews of Geophysics. 2:648-57. Vorosmarty, C. J., Moore, B., III, 1991: Modeling basin-scale hydrology in support of physical climate and global biogeochemical studies: an example using the Zambezi river. Surveys in geophysics. (No. 1): 271-311. Vorosmarty, C. J., Grace, A., Moore, B., Choudhury, B., et al, 1991: A strategy to study regional hydrology and terrestrial ecosystem processes using satellite remote sensing, ground-based data and computer modeling. Acta Astronautica. (No. 12): 785-92. Walker, J. C. G, Kasting, J. F., 1992: Effects of fuel and forest conservation on future levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Global and Planetary Change. (No. 3): 151-89. A Preliminary science plan for a large-scale biosphere- atmosphere field experiment in the Amazon Basin. Report from an international workshop sponsored by WCRP and IGBP held at NASA/GDFC, Greenbelt, Maryland, June 18-20, 1992. Published by ISLSCP and IGPO, Washington, DC, USA. Editors: P.J. Sellers, C.A. Nobre, D.F. Fitzjarrald, P.D. Try, and D.T. Lucid. APPENDIX 1 IAI INITIAL SCIENTIFIC THEMES * The Comparative Studies of Temperate Terrestrial Ecosystems; * High Latitude Processes; * Ocean/Land/Atmosphere Interactions in the Inter-tropical Americas; * Tropical Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles; * ENSO and Interannual Climate Variability; * The Comparative Studies of Temperate Terrestrial Ecosystems; * The Study of the Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity. APPENDIX 2 ACRONYMS IAI Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research ENSO El Ni=F1o-Southern Oscillation and Interannual Climate Variability LAI Leaf Area Index LUCC Land Use and Cover Change BGC Biogeochemistry AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer GIS Geographic Information System EOS Earth Observing System IGBP International Biosphere Program HDP Human Dimension Program ACT Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Change CIESIN Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network INPE Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (National Institute for Space Research, Brazil) NSF National Science Foundation NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration APPENDIX 3 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS Mario N. N=FA=F1ez Secretar=EDa de Ciencia y Tecnolog=EDa Depart. de Meteorolog=EDa Un. de Buenos Aires Pabell=F3n II, Piso 2 - Ciudad Universitar=EDa Buenos Aires 1428=09 ARGENTINA Tel. (54 1) 788 3572 =46ax (54 1) 788 3572 mnunez@cima.edu.ar =09 Hans Salm=09 UMSA=09 Instituto de Ecolog=EDa Casilla 10077 =09 La Paz=09 BOLIVIA=09 Tel. (591) 279 2416=09 =46ax (591) 279 7511 =09 Jorge Quintanilla Instituto de Ecolog=EDa UMSA Casilla 10077 La Paz BOLIVIA Niro Higushi INPA Alameda Cosme Ferreira, 1756=09 Aleixo, P.O. Box 478 69083 Manus, AM BRAZIL Tel. (55 92) 642 2118 =46ax (55 92) 642 2118 =09 Carlos Nobre INPE/CPTEC Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 Caixa Postal 515 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 229 977 ext. 270 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 nobre@cptec.inpe.br =09 Reynaldo L. Victoria Departamento de F=EDsica e Meteorolog=EDa Escola Superior de Agricultura Rua Luiz de Queiroz 13400 Piracicaba, SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 194) 335 122 =46ax (55 194) 228 339 =09 Get=FAlio Teixeira Batista Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) C.P. 515=09 Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos, S.P. 12201 BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 ext. 330 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 getulio@ltid.inpe.br =09 Aziz Ab'Saber BRAZIL Tel. (55 11) 347 9981 =46ax (55 11) 492 2479 =09 Benedito P. Braga Universidade de S=E3o Paulo Centro T=E9cnico Hidr=E1ulico/Cidade Universit=E1ria Av. Prof. L=FAcia Martins Rodrigues, 120 CEP 05598-900, S=E3o Paulo, SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 11) 211 1933 =46ax (55 11) 813 5217 =09 Irvine Foster Brown Universidade Federal do Acre Instituto de Qu=EDmica/Departamento de Geoqu=EDmica Morro do Valenguinho S/N 24020-007 Niter=F3i, RJ BRAZIL Tel. (55 21) 713 1313 =46ax (55 21) 719 7025 =09 Kenitiro Suguio Universidade de S=E3o Paulo Departamento de Paleontologia e Estratigrafia Cidade Universit=E1ria/Caixa Postal 20899=09 CEP 01498 970 - S=E3o Paulo-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 11) 818 4136=09 =46ax (55 11) 210 4958 =09 Eust=E1quio Reis IPEA Av. Ant=F4nio Carlos, 51 s/1704 209.020 Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRAZIL Tel. (55 21) 292 5141 =46ax (55 21) 240 1920 =09 Alberto Figueiredo Universidade Federal Fluminense BRAZIL Bruce Nelson INPA - Bot=E2nica C.P. 478, 69011 Manaus, AM BRAZIL Tel. (55 92) 236 3088=09 =46ax (55 92) 236 3088 =09 Alberto Setzler INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Ant=F4nio Carlos Miranda Universidade de Bras=EDlia Bras=EDlia, DF BRAZIL =09 Ant=F4nio Divino Moura INPE=09 Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Bernardo Rudorff INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Bohdan Matvienko Universidade de S=E3o Paulo S=E3o Paulo, SP BRAZIL =09 Caspar Stemmer Minist=E9rio da Ci=EAncia e Tecnologia BRAZIL =09 Danton Nunes INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 David Lee INPE Avda. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Di=F3genes Alves INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Eug=EAnio Almeida INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Evelyn Novo INPE =09 Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Gerardo Kuntschik INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Gilberto Fisch Centro Tecnol=F3gico Aeroespacial BRAZIL =09 Gilberto C=E2mara Neto INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 Herman Kux INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743=09 Maria Lucia Absy=09 INPA Alameda Cosme Ferreira, 1756=09 Aleixo, P.O. Box 478 69083 Manus, AM BRAZIL Tel. (55 92) 642 2118 =46ax (55 92) 642 2118 =09 Ilse Walker INPA Alameda Cosme Ferreira, 1756=09 Aleixo, P.O. Box 478 69083 Manus, AM BRAZIL Tel. (55 92) 642 2118 =46ax (55 92) 642 2118 Ari Marques Filho=09 INPA Alameda Cosme Ferreira, 1756=09 Aleixo, P.O. Box 478 69083 Manus, AM BRAZIL Tel. (55 92) 642 2118 =46ax (55 92) 642 2118 =09 Jesus M. Santos INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Jo=E3o Avila INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 =09 Jo=E3o Andrade Carvalho=09 INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 Jo=E3o R. Santos INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Jo=E3o V. Soares INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Jos=E9 F. Ramos Universidade Federal do Par=E1 BRAZIL =09 Jussara Oliveira Ortiz INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 Jos=E9 W. Garcia Universidade de S=E3o Paulo BRAZIL Luis Bevilacqua IMPA Estrada Dona Castorina, 110 Jardim Bot=E2nico 22460-320 Rio de Janeiro, RJ BRAZIL Tel. (55 21) 242 4293 =46ax (55 21) 242 8687 lbv@rio.faperj.br =09 Luis Alberto Vieira Dias INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 Luis Carlos B. Molion INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Gylvan Meira Filho Minist=E9rio da Ci=EAncia e Tecnologia BRAZIL =09 Lycia Nordemann INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 Marcia Yamasoe Universidade de S=E3o Paulo BRAZIL =09 Marcio Nogueira Barbosa INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Marcio Costa Pereira INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Maria Albertina Costa Universidade de S=E3o Paulo BRAZIL =09 Maria Etelvina Arbex INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Maria Isabel Escada INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Maria Silvia Lacruz=09 INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Maycira Pereira F. Costa INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 Paulo Artaxo Universidade de S=E3o Paulo BRAZIL =09 Nelson J. Ferreira INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Osman Silva INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Paulo Roberto Martini INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Ralph Gielow INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Sandra Costa Universidade do Vale do Para=EDba BRAZIL Regina C. S. Alvala INPE=09 Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Sherry Chen INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Simone Scholze Minist=E9rio da Ci=EAncia e Tecnologia Bras=EDlia, DF BRAZIL =09 T=E2nia M. Sausen INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Terezinha dos Santos Botelho INPE =09 Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Thelma Krug INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 Welington Braz Delitti Carvalho Universidade de S=E3o Paulo S=E3o Paulo, SP BRAZIL =09 Volker Kirchoff INPE Av. dos Astronautas, 1758 12201 S=E3o Jos=E9 dos Campos-SP BRAZIL Tel. (55 123) 418 977 =46ax (55 123) 218 743 =09 =46rancis J. Ahern Canada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) 588 Booth St. Ottawa K1A 0Y7 CANADA Tel. (613) 947 1295 =46ax (613) 947 1385 Richard Denis Robarts National Hydrology Research Institute 11 Innovation Boulevard Saskatoon, Sasketchewan S7N 3HS=09 CANADA Tel. (306) 975 6047 =46ax (306) 975 5143 robarts@nbrisv.nhrc.sk.doe.ca =46abio Gonz=E1lez Universidad Nacional de Colombia Departamento de F=EDsica Santa F=E9 de Bogot=E1 COLOMBIA Tel. (571) 269 7884 =46ax (571) 222 5716 Lorena San Rom=E1n, Vice-Rectora de Investigaci=F3n Universidad Nacional Heredia COSTA RICA Tel. (506) 376 465 =09 Jorge Alberto Fallas Gamboa Universidad Nacional Escuela de Ciencias Ambientales Apartado 1350 3000 Heredia COSTA RICA Tel. (506) 237 7039 =46ax (506) 237 7036=09 =09 =46ernando Gonz=E1les=09 Centro de Investigaci=F3n en Alimentaci=F3n y Desarrollo, A.C. Unidad Mazatl=E1n en Acuicultura y Manejo Ambiental Mazatl=E1n, Sinaloa MEXICO Tel. (55 69) 880 157 =46ax (55 69) 880 159 Angelina Mart=EDnez Centro de Ecolog=EDa UNAM Yucat=E1n y Madrid Col. Los Arcos Hermosillo, Sonora 8300 MEXICO Tel. (52 62) 175 019 =46ax (52 62) 175 340 =09 Carlos A. Ram=EDrez Instituto Nacional de Recursos Naturales Renovables Condominio Analiza, Apto. 402- Via Espa=F1a, Carrasquilla PANAMA Tel. (507) 324 330 =46ax (507) 324 975 Carlos A. Llerena =46acultad de Ciencias Forestales Universidad Nacional Agr=E1ria La Molina Apartado 456 Lima PERU Tel. (51 14) 511 461 =46ax (51-14) 315 747 =09 Walter Danjoy Instituto Nacional deRecursos Naturales Calle No. 355 Urbanizacion El Palomar San Isidro, Lima PERU Tel. (51 14) 410 425 =46ax (51 14) 414 606 =09 James L. Buizer NOAA Office of Global Programs 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1225 Silver Spring MD 20910 USA Tel. (301) 427 2089 =46ax (301) 427 2082 buizer@ogp.noaa.gov=09 Anthony Janetos NASA Headquarters Code SEP 300 E Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. USA=09 Tel. (202) 358 0272 =46ax (202) 358 2771 =09 Rub=E9n Lara IAI Office of the Executive Scientist 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1201 Silver Spring MD 20910=09 Tel. (301) 589 5747 =46ax (301) 589 5711 lara@ogp.noaa.gov Raquel S. Gomes IAI Office of the Executive Scientist 1100 Wayne Ave., Suite 1201 Silver Spring MD 20910=09 Tel. (301) 589 5747 =46ax (301) 589 5711 Michael Douglas National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration ERL/NSSL 1313 Halley Circle Norman, OK 73069 USA Tel. (405) 366 0525 =46ax (405) 366 0472 mdouglas@nssl.nssl.woknor.edu =09 Stephen Piotrowicz NOAA=09 1315 East-West Hwy SSMC-3 11th Floor OAR/PDC Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA Tel. (301) 713 2465 =46ax (301) 713 0666 spiotrowicz@red.noaa.gov David Skole Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space Complex Systems Research Center University of New Hampshire Durham, NH 03824 USA Tel. (603) 862 1792 =46ax (603) 862 1915 =09 =09