IRES Track 1: Ecological responses to rainfall across the Namib Desert climate gradient

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Drylands (arid and semi-arid ecosystems) are of global ecological and socioeconomic importance as they cover nearly half of the earth's terrestrial surface and support a large and growing portion of the earth's human population and livestock production. Despite their importance, ecological processes in drylands are poorly understood relative to wetter systems. This lack of knowledge limits available information for informed dryland management. The project aims to address this knowledge gap by training US undergraduate and graduate students to carry out international research in dryland ecosystems. The Global Drylands Center-Gobabeb Research Opportunity will provide intensive training for eighteen US students over a three year period. The student activities will last for eight weeks each summer, during which students will conduct research at the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre, located in the heart of the oldest desert in the world, the Namib Desert of Namibia. US students will work collaboratively with Namibian interns, Namibian mentors, and US PIs to design and carry out novel research projects that will use a unique precipitation gradient to explore how climate and soil composition affect ecological processes in drylands. Students will prepare for the research experience through an online seminar in the semester before travel and will participate in follow-up synthesis activities in the semester following their research experience. These research projects will train a cohort of US students in research techniques, positioning them for careers that will advance our understanding of dryland ecosystems. The use of research teams composed of US students, Namibian interns, and Namibian faculty mentors will provide valuable training in collaborative research and communication skills. This program will help develop a new generation of internationally-engaged dryland scientists, thus enhancing capacities and contributing to the ecological knowledge base, paramount for sustainable use and management of drylands. Scientific understanding of ecological processes in dryland systems is limited relative to wetter systems. This knowledge gap reflects both historical research biases and the transmission of these biases to successive generations of student scientists. Little scientific study of drylands is amplified by the fact that vast areas of global drylands are located in developing nations with limited scientific resources. A step toward enhancing our basic and applied knowledge in drylands is providing training opportunities for students in international dryland research and developing a next generation of scientific leaders who can effectively collaborate in international arenas. Increased leadership by US scientists in international dryland research will enhance understanding of our own drylands and improve basic science and land management in developing nations. The Namib Desert of Namibia offers a unique natural experiment for quantifying mechanistic controls over biogeochemical, ecological, and physiological processes in drylands because of a steep precipitation gradient coincides with contrasting soil surfaces. The close geographic proximity of sites with contrasting rainfall and soil types, access to a well-equipped research station, and existing relationships with Namibian scientists make this an excellent site for a research training program that will help develop a new generation of internationally-engaged dryland scientists. The Global Drylands Center-Gobabeb Research Opportunity (GDC-GRO) will facilitate research projects which will be carried out by teams of US students (undergraduate and graduate) and Namibian interns who will work closely with Namibian mentors and US PIs. A total of eighteen US students will participate (four undergraduates and two graduate students in each of the three years). Intensive IRES activities will last eight weeks each year, with preparation activities in the semester beforehand through an online seminar and follow-up synthesis activities in the semester following the IRES experience. Key players in this proposal are Namibian mentors (from University of Namibia, Namibia University of Science and Technology and Gobabeb Research and Training Centre) who are eager to work with student teams and US PIs to develop substantive research projects across the Namib precipitation gradient. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.