RCN: Tropical Forests in a Changing World

Duke University, Durham NC

Investigators

Abstract

Changes in tropical forests worldwide are a real and urgent problem. Many of these changes are attributed to obvious destructive interventions such as logging and burning. The influences of global climate change on tropical forests have been documented also. Trees grow more slowly in hot years and many tropical streams are more acidic in El Niño years. Evidence suggests there are other factors that may play a significant role as well. Extinction of tropical frog species is probably due to a complex interaction of climate change and susceptibility to a fatal fungal disease. The overarching goal of this project is the creation of an interdisciplinary network of scientists from tropical field sites with long-term data sets to test hypotheses about the causes of ongoing changes in tropical forests. The network meetings and the resultant research will enable the project to evaluate the likely effects of changes in forest dynamics, project these impacts into future decades, and plan ways to lessen the destructive impact of the changes. The broader importance of this project concerns how the health of the tropical environment is connected to the condition of the entire planet and to the health and economic well-being of its human inhabitants through mechanisms such as the spread of disease vectors like ticks and mosquitoes and disruption of crop pollination. This compelling scientific importance is coupled with the integration of outreach to K-12 and adult learning groups in the network activities to facilitate greater understanding about how changes in tropical forests have world-wide implications.