U.S.-Mexico Cooperative Research: Current and Future Patterns of Vegetation and Ecosystem Function in the Regions of San Diego and La Paz, Mexico

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0072140OeschelThis U.S. Mexico award will support a research collaboration between Drs. Walter Oeschel, Douglas Deutschman, and Paul Ganster of San Diego State University and Dr. Arturo Muhlia Melo and his group at the Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR) in La Paz, Baja California, Mexico. The overall objective of the research is to develop the capability to predict current and future patterns of vegetation and ecosystem function in the arid and semi-arid ecosystems of the La Paz and San Diego regions. Specific objectives include determining the inter- and intra annual pattern of ecosystem carbon dioxide flux and water use in Southern California and Baja California, using ecosystem landscape models to predict current and future carbon and water flux of the region and validating them with field sampling and aircraft measurement of regional gas and water fluxes and remote sensing. Semi-arid ecosystems are often centers of bio-diversity, of rare and endangered species, and are particularly sensitive to the impacts of global change. The proposed collaboration will integrate current activities on each side of the border, building on the complementary expertise at SDSU and CIBNOR, and linking results of scientific research to the socio-economic context, local, national, and international policy.