Vulnerability of the carbon and water cycles in primary rainforest and agroforestry ecosystems in Indonesia to Climate Change

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Current and future climatic changes are affecting the functioning of natural and managed ecosystems in Indonesia by altering the energy balance and fluxes of water and greenhouse gases and consequently the productivity of the ecosystems. Land use changes e.g. from natural to managed ecosystems may results in important climatic feedbacks at all spatial scales in terms of surface properties and particularly in the water cycle. The main objectives of the proposal are (a) to quantify the ecosystem – atmosphere exchange of energy, water and CO2 fluxes over a primary rainforest and a cacao plantation in relation to environmental drivers, (b) to determine the origin and recycling of atmospheric water using stable water isotopes (18O and 2H), and (c) to assess the feedbacks of changing land use on regional climate forcing and the water cycle. Methodologically, we will combine eddy covariance measurements of energy, water, and CO2 fluxes at two sites on the Sulawesi Island with novel online measurements of 18O and 2H in water vapor using laser spectroscopy, and regional scale climate modeling. Combining new data measured at the two tower sites and a meteo-station network with regional climate modeling will provide an assessment of the vulnerability of the carbon and water cycle to global change and thus help to identify high risk areas for land use during the 21st century.