From February 26 to March 11, 2018, a fourth field campaign will take place. We unexpectedly received opportunity to start renaturation (reforestation) on pasture land near Boca do Acre. Saplings have been planted in late 2017. We shall document the site (drone-based orthophotography) and take some additional samples. In addition, re-sampling Làbrea is on the agenda, since it was inaccessible (inundations) a year ago.
Research Into Use (RIU) Workshop
Monday, June 05, 2017. A 1-day workshop presents key results of EcoRespira-Amazon. Everyone interested is welcome. Here is the preliminary programme:
08:30: Introduction and welcome notes
09:30: Characteristics and ecosystem services of the Amazon region
10:00: Meteorology and climatology of the Amazon basin
10:30: Coffee break
11:00: EcoRespira-Amazon: Project philosophy
11:30: EcoRespira-Amazon: Project methodology
12:00: Group discussion
12:30: Lunch break
14:00: Soil physics and implications
14:20: Soil humidity and pH
14:40: Soil chemistry and dynamics
15:10: Soil and ecosystem respiration
15:40: Coffee break
16:00: Biomass dynamics
16:30: The destination is important, not the trail to get there: A new model
17:00: Final group discussion
Please indicate your interest in participation to Dr. Cintia Rodrigues de Souza
We look forward to welcoming you in Manaus.
Third (and last) field campaign successfully completed
Blood, sweat and tears may be a bit of an exaggeration. Yet, we did shed blood to myriads of insects, this time including mosquitos, we sure did sweat it out daily, but I do not remember tears.
The last (so far) five weeks of tough fieldwork, more than 5000 kilometres by 4W vehicle and lots of rain. We likely experienced a rainy season that was much more normal than in 2016. Again, everything looked different in comparison to the previous campaign. Yet, we felt more familiar with all locations and sites. So much indeed that we miss many places that we will likely not see so quickly again.
It was sobering to see how at some locations, forest diminished further. At one site, where we had dense forest in phase 02 still, we were now installing rings and chamber systems on barren ground with a fair view to a far away horizon. For data and results, check the project pages in more detail. We keep updating as the processed material comes in.
At this point a big Thank You to the field crew with Julia Becher, Gilvan Coimbra Martins, Roberval Monteiro Bezzera de Lima, Sophie von Fromm and Kamal Zurba. You guys are great.
Recent accomplishments (status November 26, 2016)
With this date, and thanks to Claudia Malz, Cornelius Oertel, Elvira Rüdiger, Kamal Zurba, Karin Volkmann, Thomas Drauschke, Thurit Tschöpe and Ulrike Fischer, all geochemical data (from lithium to uranium) have been quantified in all mineral soil samples from the first campaign. A manuscript is in preparation. Claudia, Heidrun Kodym and Kamal Zurba are also to be thanked for finishing all soil respiration measurements (quantification of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) from the second campaign. Again, a manuscript is in preparation. It will include the meteo data during the sampling campaign, with another big thank you to Andrea Malheiros Ramos from INMET (Brazilian National Weather Service in Brasília), who provided a thorough analysis of meteorological boundary conditions in the basin during the first and second campaigns.
Sample aliquots also went to microbiologist Michael Schlömann and his team from TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The group will try to identify microbial communities and species with the aim to target possibly differences between forest sites and post-forest land use. Another set of aliquots is with Frank Keppler and his group at Heidelberg university for carbon isotopic studies. The first results are in and we tare working on interpretation and special tasks for the forthcoming sampling campaign.
Second field campaign successfully finished
Another five weeks of tough fieldwork, almost 6000 kilometres this time not under water but as a dust bath for a change. The drought conditions, particularly in southern Amazonas state, are severe already – ad the dry season is not over. Following the severe drought events of 2005, 2010 and 2015 (the latter strongly influenced by El Nino), 2016 might become another record season.
For us, it was amazing to learn how different both the forested and the post-forest land-cover areas feel and behave in the dry season – and how intense and severe this seasonal difference can be. For data and results, check the project pages in more detail. We keep updating as the processed material comes in.
At this point a big Thank You to the field crew with Carolin Schroeder, Gilvan,Coimbra Martins, Roberval Monteiro Bezzera de Lima, Sophie von Fromm and Thomas Drauschke.
First project qualification thesis successfully defended
On June 28, 2016, Sophie von Fromm highly successfully defended her Bachelor thesis, entitled “Soil respiration and chemistry in the Amazon basin”. Her work has been written in a very fine concise English. It presents the CO2-flux data, the CNS values from TOP soil material and delivers clear and smart hypothesis that are contextually discussed and the results intelligently interpreted — a truly fine academic start of the project. The thesis is available upon request (pdf file).
2nd Project phase starts now
The new Freiberg team, consisting of the students Sophie von Fromm, Carolin Schröder and Thomas Drauschke – under the wings of project leader Jörg Matschullat – are busy preparing for the next field trip. Their flights leave on July 09, and their return is expected for August 12, 2016. In these week before departure, equipment tests, updates of equipment to cater to encountered challenges and intense laboratory work to present the latest results in Manaus keep everyone busy.
The Brazilian team under the guidance of Dr. Roberval de Lima is busy preparing and organizing the site access for the next campaign. Team member Gilvan Coimbra Martins has been running additional respiration experiments on various additional sites in the meantime.
New flagship project
On April 20, 2016, our project EcoRespira-Amazon has been selected as their flagship project amongst the NoPa activities. We feel honoured and very happy about this significant recognition from both DAAD and GIZ. We will do our very best to further justify this decision in the future.
Kick-off Workshop NoPa2
On May 02, 2016, all NoPa2 (Novas Parcerias, fase 2) supported projects joined in a workshop in Brasília, hosted by CAPES, the Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education. The first project results from Phase 1 of EcoRespira-Amazon was presented by Jörg Matschullat and Laura Medeiros Braga. We are proud to have made significant progress already and eagerly look forward to the second campaign in July.
EcoRespira-Amazon workshop
February 23 to 25, 2016
A technical workshop at Embrapa Amazonas Occidental in Manaus launched phase 1 of EcoRespira-Amazon. Experts from Embrapa, IPAAM, UFAM (direct project partners), INPA, GIZ and SEMA discussed the aims and objectives of the project, learned details of the methodology in theory and practice. The response has been enthusiastic and local media (press and radio) reported various times.