NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2010

Cole Rebecca J, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2010. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Rebecca Cole is "Understanding carbon storage in extremely wet tropical forests." The host institution for this research is the University of Colorado at Boulder and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Alan Townsend. Tropical forests play a critical role in the terrestrial carbon budget. Global efforts to reduce carbon emissions from tropical deforestation and degradation are increasing along with implementation of novel market instruments, such as Payments for Environmental Services (PES), to enhance carbon sequestration. Yet information on the carbon dynamics of intact tropical forests and the degraded forest types that are rapidly replacing them is lacking, particularly in the wettest portions of the tropical biome where rates of biosphere-atmosphere carbon exchange are exceptionally high. This research is generating baseline data on the carbon stocks and fluxes in extremely wet topical forest and forest types currently under PES initiatives: intact rainforest, selectively logged and successional forests, and forestry plantations. The training objectives include developing expertise in field and laboratory-based techniques in biogeochemistry, broadening the Fellow's knowledge of rainforest biogeochemistry and ecosystem responses to climate change, and improving grant writing, mentorship, and outreach skills. The results of this project enable an evaluation of carbon storage that will inform carbon offset programs in Costa Rica and other tropical countries. The research will produce key ground-truthing measures for high spatial resolution airborne imaging spectroscopy of forests allowing for mapping of carbon storage over a broad geographic region. The project also provides research experience for Costa Rica and US undergraduate students and outreach to local communities and schools. The results of this project are being disseminated through publication in major research journals, presentation at national meetings, and to Costa Rican conservation, government, and university groups.