IAI Workshop: To Implement a Research and Training Network for Plant-Soil Interactions in the Semi-Arid Tropics

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9530225 Tiessen The network to be established concerns biogeochemical cycles in semi-arid tropical ecosystems and derived agricultural systems. It aims at the establishment of a research center for researah, training and education from existing links between three research institutions in Canada, Brazil and Venezuela, and an expansion of these links within Brazil and to Bolivia and Mexico. The phase I proposal is for a workshop to bring together present and future participants of the network, assemble present knowledge (and gaps) on the interactions of biogeochemical cycles and vegetation; unify research and training approaches, and prepare a Phase II proposal. The workshop will be a short course on soil-vegetation interactions in the biogeochemical cycling of important nutrient elements, and on the nutrient and climatic limitations to plant production in the semiarid regions. The material presented is to be collated in a form suitable for training and education material for participants and their institutions. This will serve as an example of the capacity building activities which will accompany the research of the IAI Phase II Proposal. In addition, common research approaches will be formulated, and there will be planning for an exchange of researchers and teachers establish the network to be supported by Phase II. The longer term goal is for this network proposed for Phase II to be extended to form an IAI Research Consortium. The network to be established concerns biogeochemical cycles in semi-arid tropical ecosystems and derived agricultural systems. The phase I proposal is for a workshop to bring together present and future participants of the network, assemble present knowledge (and gaps) on the interactions of biogeochemical cycles and vegetation; unify research and training approaches, and prepare a Phase II proposal. The goal of the Phase II proposal is the establishment of a research network, with the aim of facilitating terrestrial ecosystems research with a strong prac tical component, that may serve as a tool for planning and guidance for sustainable land use related to agriculture and watershed management. In addition, the PIs hope to create a network for training and education, improve the research and teaching capacities of the institutions involved, and provide a focus for investigations with importance to the envionmentally sound management of large areas of the South American semi-arids. This proposal involves researchers from three research institutions in Canada, Brazil and Venezuela, and it plans an expansion of its links within Brazil and to Bolivia and Mexico. The proposed collaboration will play a role in the provision of vital ecosystem understanding. In addition, findings on the interaction of trees and soil fertility will be examined with the aim to establish a data base on fertility-biology interactions, with relevance for the use of indigenous species of agroforestry. The above mentioned countries are Member States of the IAI, an initiative to stimulate cooperative research on global change issues among the scientific institutions of the Americas. The National Science Foundation is the designated U.S. Government Agency to carry out the U.S. responsibilities within the IAI. ***