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，亚马逊遭受了大规模的森林砍伐。森林砍伐改变了小型和大型河流流域的地下水和河流流量，未来可能导致亚马逊地区的气候更加炎热和干燥。亚马逊的水资源已经发生了多大的变化，以及未来可能发生多大的变化，目前还不清楚。该项目将数据收集和计算机模型相结合，探讨农业扩张对亚马逊水资源的影响。将在万年青森林、稀树草原、牧场和大豆环境中的23个流域收集水流和气候数据，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，以提供过去和未来森林砍伐对亚马逊能源和水循环影响的大规模分析。农民、政策制定者、教育工作者、学生和公众将有机会了解土地利用变化的影响。所产生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180多万公顷（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位于Nova Xavantina的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计划，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接受实践培训。

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.