Constraining the carbon balance of intact tropical forest landscapes

完整的热带森林在决定气候变化速度方面发挥着关键作用，因为它们既可以是一个重要的碳汇，也可以是潜在的碳源。来自长期森林调查样地的数据表明，近几十年来，这些生态系统起到了碳汇的作用[1-3]，但在干旱事件期间，这一作用已大大减少[4]。在亚马逊地区，一个关键问题是如何外推森林样地的碳平衡估计，以估计热带森林景观的碳平衡。特别是，需要同时整合汇强度以及干扰和恢复过程的空间变化的方法。这些方法的发展对于鼓励在国家和国际政策范围内发现完好的森林中的碳汇具有重要意义。因此，该博士学位的目的是将生态数据和遥感数据的分析联系起来，以改进对完整热带森林地貌的碳平衡的估计，并将方法和结果纳入国家报告的热带森林国家碳排放。根据候选人的兴趣，该项目可能涉及：-对亚马逊森林地块碳平衡的时空趋势进行新的生态分析，作为改进其强度外推的基础。例如，分析可以探索森林碳平衡如何随森林结构、土壤和气候的变化而在区域范围内发生变化，与诸如到最近森林边缘的距离等碎片化指数有关，或与已知的历史人类居住地有关--对旨在衡量完整森林碳平衡的现有和新兴遥感产品的新颖评价，包括考虑适当的统计方法以跨越遥感和地块数据集之间的尺度差距--综合地块和遥感数据集，以开发新的产品来估计景观水平的碳平衡，在空间上推断汇强度，并纳入干扰的贡献，退化和次生林再生的动态该项目背后的一个关键推动因素是改善国家一级对热带森林碳的核算。该项目的这一方面将侧重于与秘鲁政府组织现有的密切合作，包括秘鲁保护区管理局(SERNANP)和环境部(MINAM)。监督小组领导成功的项目和合作，以支持这一新的研究项目，包括RAINFOR网络、ForestPlots.net倡议和对遥感产品的分析，以评估亚马逊地区的碳平衡。由于一项正在进行的监测保护区森林健康的倡议，该小组还与秘鲁各机构有密切的现有联系。在项目期间，您将有机会与亚马逊地区的合作者和利益相关者进行广泛的互动。

Intact tropical forests play a key role in determining the rate of climate change, as they can act as either a significant sink, or potentially source, of carbon. Data from long-term forest inventory plots indicate that over recent decades, these ecosystems have acted as a carbon sink [1-3], but this has been greatly reduced during drought events [4].In Amazonia, a key issue is how to extrapolate the estimates of the carbon balance of forest plots to estimate the carbon balance of tropical forest landscapes. In particular, approaches are required that simultaneously integrate spatial variation in sink strength and disturbance and recovery processes. The development of these methods is important to encourage uptake of the finding of a carbon sink within intact forests within a national and international policy context. The aim of this PhD is therefore to link analysis of ecological and remote sensing data to improve estimation of the carbon balance of intact tropical forest landscapes, and insert the methods and results within national reporting of carbon emissions in tropical forest countries.Depending on the interests of the candidate, the project could involve:- New ecological analysis of spatial and temporal trends in the carbon balance of Amazonian forest plots, as a basis for improved extrapolation of its strength. For example, analyses could explore how forest carbon balance varies regionally and with variation in forest structure, soils and climate, in relation to indexes of fragmentation such as the distance to the nearest forest edge, or in relation to known sites of historical human occupation- Novel evaluation of existing and emerging remote sensing products that aim to measure the carbon balance of intact forests, including consideration of appropriate statistical methods to cross scale-gaps between remotely sensed and plot datasets- Integrating plot and remote sensing datasets to develop new products to estimate landscape-level carbon balance that extrapolate sink strength spatially and incorporate the contribution of disturbances, degradation and the dynamics of secondary forest regrowthA key impulse behind this project is to improve national-level accounting of carbon in tropical forests. This aspect of the project would be focussed on existing strong collaborations with government organisations in Peru, including the Peruvian Protected Areas Authority (SERNANP) and the Ministry of the Environment (MINAM).The supervisory team leads successful projects and collaborations to support this new research project, including the RAINFOR network, the ForestPlots.net initiative and the analysis of remote sensing products to assess the carbon balance of Amazonia. The team also has close existing links to Peruvian institutions as a result of an on-going initiative to monitor the health of forest in protected areas. You will have the opportunity to interact extensively with collaborators and stakeholders across Amazonia, during the project.