REU Site: Ecohydrology of Tropical Montane Forests -- Diversity in Science, Interdisciplinary Breadth, and Global Awareness

这个REU网站每年将支持8名来自两年制社区学院的学生参加为期10周的国际研究体验。在德克萨斯农工大学农业与生命科学学院、土木工程学院和地球科学学院的教职员工以及哥斯达黎加各院校的教职员工的指导下，参与者将描绘哥斯达黎加中部热带山地森林流域的水、气候和生物多样性梯度。学生们利用从低地雨林到高海拔云雾林的自然气候梯度来表征影响水流产生的陆地-大气相互作用和过程。该计划旨在提供在区域到全球范围内生物物理过程，水管理和人类影响之间相互作用的横切理解。这些活动提供了第一手的国际研究经验，培养了一个学习型社区，展示了科学多样性的基础重要性，为学生提供了文化体验，并提高了对森林、水和人之间相互联系的认识。提高不同背景学生参与的招聘策略包括访问目标学校，使网站对更广泛的申请人更具吸引力，在申请过程中提供资源和帮助，以及打破参加海外留学项目的障碍。评估小组将审查这些指导经验如何鼓励学生理解科学研究过程，培养个人研究兴趣，并欣赏他们与教师的指导经验。预期成果包括在主要研究期刊上发表师生联合出版物、研究会议报告，以及评估国际实地经验成功与否的研究。最近的证据表明，预估的陆地和海洋温度升高将导致中美洲云量减少和降水状况改变。砍伐低地雨林可以进一步减少云雾，从而加剧干旱，改变森林结构，减少对旱季向下游用户供水至关重要的河流流量。REU的学生将通过文化交流和服务学习项目来观察山区的水如何影响下面山谷的农业和社会，这些项目为他们提供了全球能力，包括在多元化和全球化社会中有效生活和工作的能力，并阐明多元化和全球化视角的价值。该站点由国防部与NSF REU项目合作提供支持

This REU site will support eight students per year, recruited from 2-year community colleges, to participate in a 10-week international research experience. The participants will characterize the gradient of water, climate, and biodiversity in the watershed of a tropical montane forest in central Costa Rica under the guidance of Texas A&M University faculty from the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Civil Engineering, and Geosciences, alongside faculty and students at institutions in Costa Rica. Students utilize natural climate gradients from lowland rainforests to high-elevation cloud forests to characterize land-atmosphere interactions and processes that impact streamflow generation. The program is designed to provide crosscutting understanding of the interactions among biophysical processes, water management, and human impacts in a regional-to-global context. Activities provide a firsthand international research experience, foster a learning community, demonstrate the foundational importance of diversity in science, provide students with a cultural experience, and increase awareness of the interconnection between forests, water and people. Recruitment strategies to enhance participation of students from diverse backgrounds include visiting target schools, making the website more attractive to a wide range of applicants, providing resources and assistance in the application process, and breaking down barriers to participate in study abroad programs. The assessment team will examine how those mentoring experiences encourage students to understand the scientific research process, develop individual research interests, and appreciate their mentoring experiences with faculty members. The expected outcomes include joint faculty-student publications in leading research journals, research conference presentations, and studies to assess the success of international field experiences.Recent evidence suggests that projected temperature increases over land and sea will lead to decreased cloud cover and altered precipitation regimes in Central America. Deforestation of lowland rainforest can further reduce cloud and mist, which amplifies drought, alters forest structure, and reduces stream flows crucial for dry-season water supplies to downstream users. REU students will observe how water from the mountains affects agriculture and society in the valley below via cultural exchanges and service learning projects that provide them with global competences including the ability to live and work effectively in a diverse and global society, and articulate the value of a diverse and global perspective.This site is supported by the Department of Defense in partnership with the NSF REU program