NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute for FY 2012 in Japan

Lee Baeksoo, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds Baek Soo Lee of Oregon State University to conduct a research project, entitled "Slope and historical land management effects on the nitrogen cycle in a Japanese forest watershed" during the summer of 2012 at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The host scientist is Dr. Hideaki Shibata. The Intellectual Merit of the research project is to better understand mechanisms of the nitrogen cycle in relation to slope and historical land use as well as to improve land management decision-making processes for enhancing water and soil quality. This research addresses several new aspects of the influence of slope and forest management history on nitrogen cycling in surface water and soil within a forest ecosystem using spatial and statistical analyses and is being conducted in the Nakagawa Experimental Forest in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. Broader Impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce.