US-Ethiopia Planning Visit: Vegetation-Hydrology Linkages in the Upper Blue Nile Basin

该计划访问奖将支持两名美国研究人员，佛罗里达国际大学（FIU）的Assefa Melesse博士和国家地球资源观测科学中心（EROS）的Gabriel Senay博士前往埃塞俄比亚，加强他们与亚的斯亚贝巴大学（AAU）的Woldeamlak Bewket博士在生态水文学方面的合作。最近的研究表明，青尼罗河流量的减少主要是由于淤积、水源保护不力、农田扩张、过度放牧和桉树人工林面积的增加。这次计划访问将使pi能够开发一个研究项目，测量植被（例如，不同的作物，桉树，原生植物）对土壤水分时空动态的影响，确定植被的水文响应的时间变异性，并将这些信息与其他参数相结合，模拟蓝尼罗河上游流域土壤水分平衡和河流流量作为植被覆盖的函数。在访问期间，pi及其合作者将设计研究方案，确定最合适的研究地点，评估研究设施，并确定该地区正在进行的相关工作。这些pi还计划与来自亚的斯亚贝巴大学、阿姆哈拉地区农业研究所（ARARI）研究室和尼罗河流域倡议（NBI）办公室的其他科学家会面。埃塞俄比亚青尼罗河流域的特点是贫困、人口快速增长、环境退化和自然灾害频繁。虽然预计未来25年该流域的人口将显著增加，但预计水资源将减少。河流流量的减少也是一个跨国界的政治问题，因为它们影响到尼罗河下游在苏丹和埃及的流量。此次访问还将扩大和加强美国在该地区与AAU、NBI、非政府组织和其他在该盆地开展互补项目的机构的伙伴关系。

Melesse 0527279 This planning visit award will support two U.S. researchers, Dr. Assefa Melesse from Florida International University (FIU) and Dr. Gabriel Senay from the National Center for Earth Resources Observation Science (EROS), to travel to Ethiopia to strengthen their collaboration in ecohydrology with Dr. Woldeamlak Bewket from Addis Ababa University (AAU). Recent studies indicate that decreases in the Blue Nile River's discharge have been primarily attributable to siltation, poor headwater protection, expansion of croplands, overgrazing, and increased area under Eucalyptus plantations. This planning visit will enable the PIs to develop a research project that measures the impact of vegetation (e.g., different crops, Eucalyptus trees, native plants) on the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil moisture, identifies the temporal variability of the hydrologic response to vegetation, and integrates this information with other parameters to simulate soil water balance and river discharge as a function of vegetation cover in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin. During the visit, the PIs and their collaborators will design research protocols, identify the most appropriate research sites, assess research facilities, and identify related ongoing efforts in the region. The PIs also plan to meet with other scientists from Addis Ababa University, as well as from the Amhara Region Agricultural Research Institute (ARARI) Research Office and the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) office.The Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia is characterized by poverty, rapid population growth, environmental degradation and frequent natural disasters. While the population in the basin is projected to increase significantly over the next 25 years, the water resources are projected to decline. Decreases in the river's discharge are also a transboundary political issue, because they influence the flow of the Nile River downstream in Sudan and Egypt. The visit will also extend and enhance U.S. partnerships in the region with AAU, NBI, NGOs and others working on complimentary projects in the basin.