MSM Collaborative Research: Agricultural expansion in the Brazilian Amazon and its influence on the water, energy, and climate cycles

近年来，由于全球对牛肉和大豆的需求大幅增加，亚马逊遭受了大面积的森林砍伐。森林砍伐改变了大大小小的河流流域的地下水和溪流流量，未来可能会导致亚马逊地区气候变得更热、更干燥。目前尚不清楚亚马逊的水资源已经发生了多大的变化，以及未来会发生多大的变化。该项目通过结合数据收集和计算机模型来解决农业扩张对亚马逊水资源的影响。将在常绿森林、稀树草原、牧场和大豆环境中的23个流域收集河流流量和气候数据，以了解森林砍伐对当地水和能量平衡的影响。这些数据将与现有的计算机模型一起使用，对过去和未来的森林砍伐对亚马逊地区能源和水循环的影响进行大规模分析。农民、政策制定者、教育工作者、学生和公众将有机会通过这个项目了解土地利用变化的影响。生成的数据和吸取的经验教训将用于制定河流健康措施，这些措施可应用于巴西现有的超过180万公顷（450万英亩）的财产网络。该项目将为美国和巴西的至少四名博士生，以及马托格罗索州立大学的硕士和本科生提供直接的财政和技术支持。这项工作还将支持和扩大巴西马托格罗索州一个有影响力的教师教育项目，加强巴西马托格罗索州和马萨诸塞州法尔茅斯市中学之间的科学教育联系。它还将每年派遣两名科学记者到巴西进行实践培训。

The Amazon has suffered extensive deforestation in recent years as a result of a large increase in global demand for beef and soy. Deforestation changes groundwater and stream flow in both small and large river basins and, in the future, may cause a hotter and drier climate in the Amazon. How much the water resources of the Amazon have already changed, as well as how much they may change in the future is not known. This project addresses the consequences of agricultural expansion on the water resources of the Amazon by combining data collection and computer models. Stream flow and climate data will be gathered in 23 watersheds in evergreen forest, savanna, pasture, and soy environments to understand the effects of deforestation on the local water and energy balance. The data will be used with existing computer models to provide a large-scale analysis of the effects of past and future deforestation on the energy and water cycles of the Amazon. Farmers, policymakers, educators, students, and the public will have opportunities to learn about the effects of land use change as a result of this project. Data generated and lessons learned will be used to develop stream health measures that can be applied on an existing network of properties covering more than 1.8 million hectares (4.5 million acres), in Brazil. The project will provide direct financial and technical support to at least four PhD students in the US and Brazil, as well as master's and undergraduate students from the State University of Mato Grosso at Nova Xavantina. The work will also support and expand an influential teacher educational program in Mato Grosso, Brazil, strengthening science education ties between middle schools in Mato Grosso, Brazil, and Falmouth, MA. It will also send two science journalists each year to Brazil for hands-on training.