Quantifying and understanding tropical peatland spatial distribution and carbon storage in Central Africa

量化和了解中部非洲热带泥炭地空间分布和碳储存

• 批准号: NE/I018700/1
• 负责人: Simon Lewis
• 金额: $ 10.15万
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Training Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FI018700%2F1
• 关键词: Quantifying; understanding; tropical; peatland; spatial

Largely anecdotal evidence suggests that sub-Saharan Africa may contain large areas of peatlands, several times the extent of those in the UK, with peat thickness reports of 30-60 m in the Congo Basin. If correct, this indicates that these areas, on a per area basis, are some of the world's densest carbon stores. Discovering and quantifying the carbon stored in such peatlands, and the environmental controls on their extent and distribution, is therefore critical to (1) improving our understanding of carbon cycling in Africa, the least well-understood continent from this perspective, (2) modelling future climate change impacts and (3) managing this resource. In addition, the description of previously unknown and/or unquantified peat deposits may provide direct benefits for Central African governments and local people in the form of access to payments to reduce carbon emissions from land-use change. This has the potential to have a clear societal impact in terms of alleviating poverty in one of the world's most income-poor regions. Therefore the project will describe, map and quantify the peatlands and their carbon storage across the Republic of Congo. The project has been developed with the CASE partner Wildlife Conservation Society-Congo, the largest conservation NGO in Congo, who monitor and co-manage, with the Congolese government, 2.8 million ha of forest and wetland habitat in Congo, which is likely to include major peat deposits (storing 2.4 Pg C by one recent estimate). The project enables possibly policy-framing research - as belowground carbon stores are currently not considered in most discussions of payments for ecosystem services - that ordinarily WCS-Congo would not have the expertise to undertake alone. The student will (1) utilise remote sensing products and local on-the-ground knowledge to identify the most likely areas of peat accumulation, (2) visit some of these in the field to discover how much peat exists and characterise the overlying vegetation, (3) combine remotely sensed and field data to calculate the carbon stored in the visited sites, (4) utilise this data to prediction the local geographic conditions and environmental relationships that favour peat genesis and accumulation to then estimate the locations and total carbon stored in WCS-managed areas across Congo. The successful candidate will have some combination of a background in soil science, ecology, or earth observation, speak French and will be motivated to pursue a career in ecology or conservation. WCS-Congo will provide support of £2.5K p/a, office space and other facilities in Congo-Brazzaville. Additionally they will provide access to field sites, assistance in the assessment of remote sensing data, training in expedition management and execution, and will expose the student to practical science-based conservation management in Central Africa. The UK-based supervisors and WCS-Congo will ensure that the project outputs include not only world-class science but also have specific management relevance. The student will benefit from five supervisors, three at Leeds, specialising in African carbon dynamics (Lewis), peat ecology (Lawson, Baird), African landscape management (CASE Partner Telfer), and tropical peatlands (Page, University of Leicester), who collectively are the authors of over 150 papers, including seven in Science/Nature. The project provides an excellent package of student training, incorporating elements of field, laboratory and modelling work, enabling the development of a broad suite of technical skills in addition to practical conservation management experience in Central Africa. The interdisciplinary nature of this project will provide the student with skills that will be of great value to their future scientific career.

大量的轶事证据表明，撒哈拉以南非洲可能含有大面积的泥炭地，其面积是英国的几倍，刚果盆地的泥炭厚度报告为30-60米。如果是正确的，这表明这些地区，在每个地区的基础上，是一些世界上的丹麦碳储存。因此，发现和量化这些泥炭地中储存的碳，以及对其范围和分布的环境控制，对于（1）提高我们对非洲碳循环的理解至关重要，从这个角度来看，非洲是最不了解的大陆，（2）模拟未来气候变化的影响，（3）管理这种资源。此外，对以前未知和/或未量化的泥炭沉积物的描述可能会为中非政府和当地人民提供直接利益，其形式是获得付款，以减少土地使用变化造成的碳排放。这有可能对世界上收入最低的地区之一的减贫产生明显的社会影响。因此，该项目将描述、绘制和量化整个刚果共和国的泥炭地及其碳储存。该项目是与CASE合作伙伴刚果野生动物保护协会一起开发的，该协会是刚果最大的保护非政府组织，与刚果政府一起监测和共同管理刚果280万公顷的森林和湿地栖息地，其中可能包括主要的泥炭矿床（根据最近的估计，储存2.4 Pg C）。该项目可能有助于政策框架研究-因为地下碳储存目前在大多数生态系统服务付费讨论中没有考虑-通常情况下，刚果世界野生动物保护协会没有专门知识单独开展这一研究。学生将（1）利用遥感产品和当地的地面知识，以确定最有可能的泥炭堆积区，（2）访问其中一些领域，以发现多少泥炭存在和植被覆盖，（3）结合联合收割机遥感和实地数据，以计算碳储存在访问网站，（4）利用这些数据预测有利于泥炭生成和积累的当地地理条件和环境关系，然后估计刚果各地WCS管理区域的位置和总碳储存量。成功的候选人将具有土壤科学，生态学或地球观测的背景，会说法语，并有动力从事生态学或保护事业。WCS-Congo将在刚果布拉柴维尔提供250万英镑的支持，办公空间和其他设施。此外，他们还将提供实地考察机会，协助评估遥感数据，提供考察管理和执行方面的培训，并将使学生了解中部非洲以科学为基础的实际保护管理。总部设在英国的监督员和刚果世界科学中心将确保项目产出不仅包括世界级的科学，而且还具有具体的管理相关性。学生将受益于五个主管，三个在利兹，专门从事非洲碳动力学（刘易斯），泥炭生态学（劳森，贝尔德），非洲景观管理（案例合作伙伴特尔弗），和热带泥炭地（页，莱斯特大学），谁集体是超过150篇论文的作者，其中包括七个在科学/自然。该项目提供了一套优秀的学生培训方案，其中包括实地、实验室和建模工作的内容，除了在中部非洲的实际养护管理经验外，还能发展一整套广泛的技术技能。该项目的跨学科性质将为学生提供对他们未来的科学生涯具有重要价值的技能。