Lelys Bravo de Guenni IGBP NC of Venezuela

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Lelys Bravo de GuenniIGBP NC of Venezuela

• Centro de Estadística y Software Matemático
  (CESMa)
• Caracas Venezuela
• lbravo_at_cesma.usb.ve

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Goals of this presentation

• To describe three main projects on Global Change
  Research in Venezuela How did they emerge
  objectives funding sources the people
• Lessons learnt
• Our potentials and our limitations to carry out
  global change research
• The future...

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CARIACO Project
Cariaco
RICAS
RICAS
La Gran Sabana
RICAS Network
Venezuelan contribution to LBA
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RICAS Cooperative Research Nerwork in the Andes
and Savannas

• Sponsored by the CRN-IAI program and National
  Science Councils of Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil,
  Colombia and the United States and other local
  agencies
• Ecological responses of tropical savannas and
  andean vegetation to global change (including
  aspects of biodiversity, ecosystems functioning
  and responses to change)
• 14 scientist and 27 students from 5 countries

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THE PLAY TO DEVELOP A COMPARATIVE APPROACH AT
A CONTINENTAL SCALE
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Main Lines of Research

• Dynamic of water in Mountain Forests and
  replacing pasture lands
• Structural and functional responses of mountain
  ecosystems along environmental and perturbation
  gradients
• Structural and functional responses of seasonal
  savannas along environmental and perturbation
  gradients

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Seasonal Savanna Central Venezuela
Polilepys Highest- altitude tree in the
world (Coloradito from Venezuela.)
RICAS Workshop Brasilia, 2002
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Lessons learnt Setting a Network

• RICAS started as an umbrella
• They got people from five countries under a main
  general purpose comparative studies of the
  effects of global change on the vegetation of
  three tropical ecosystems in South America
  paramo, mountain forest and seasonal savanna.

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• Thus, they did not start by defining the specific
  problems to be studied, but by selecting a group
  of people susceptible to join in a common general
  purpose and then, to proceed progressively toward
  a more detailed definition of common objectives
• Most of the participants were not already working
  directly with a global change approach thus,
  RICAS represents a recruitment into the field.

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RICAS Courses and Workshops

• Methods for multivariate vegetation analysis
  (feb. 2000) Tucuman, Argentina
• Water dynamics in mountain forests (jun. 2001)
  Mérida, Venezuela.
• Ecological applications of multivariate analysis
  (oct. 2001) Mérida, Venezuela.
• Responses of native and cultivated plants to
  climatic change (especially to uv radiation)
  (sep. 2001) Tucuman, Argentina.
• The structure of plan communities (2001) Mérida,
  Venezuela.

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CARIACO ProjectCArbon Retention In A Colored
Ocean

• The Cariaco Basin is a large (160 km long, 70 km
  wide) and deep (1,400 m) basin contained within
  the Venezuelan continental shelf
  (http//imars.usf.edu/cariaco/ )
• This program has studied since 1995 the
  relationship between surface primary production,
  physical forcing variables like the wind, and the
  settling flux of particulate carbon in the
  Cariaco Basin.
• This depression shows marked seasonal and
  interannual variation in hydrographic properties
  and in primary production (carbon fixation rates
  by photosynthesis of planktonic algae).

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• The Cariaco basin has long been the center of
  attention of scientists trying to explain
  paleoclimate.
• It is bound to the north by a sill connecting
  Margarita Island to Cabo Codera, at a mean depth
  of about 100 m . Because the sill restricts water
  motion and the lateral flux of material below
  about 140 m depth, Cariaco forms a natural
  sediment trap within a continental shelf.
• The CARIACO program provides a link between the
  sediment record and processes near the surface of
  the ocean

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• Funding from NSF, NASA and the Venezuelan Council
  of Scientific Research (CONICIT)
• Institutions involved 4 universities in the US
  and 4 research centers in Venezuela with around
  20 scientists
• Project related to IGBP-LOICZ, SIMBIOS-NASA and
  VECEP.

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Lessons Learnt

• Broad interest from the international scientific
  community and important external funding
• Excelent inkind research facilities
• Good support from local scientists

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Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions in La Gran
Sabana Region

• This project was concieved as the Venezuelan
  contribution to the Large Scale
  Biosphere-Atmosphere experiment in the Amazon
  (the LBA project).
• The overall goal of the project is to provide an
  integrated assessment of the biogeochemical
  cycles of La Gran Sabana region. This region is
  very important for the conservation of the Caroní
  river basin which produces 80 of the
  hydroelectricity of the country.

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• The main components of the project are i)
  physical aspects of climate ii) atmospheric
  chemistry (gases, particles and rainfall) iii)
  trace gas fluxes in the soil-vegetation-atmospheri
  c system iv) nutrient cycling (emphasis on
  nitrogen and phosforus) v) surface hydrology and
  water chemistry vi) productivity and nutrient
  cycling changes in the forest and savanna regions
  due to fire and land use changes vii) climate
  varibility and its impact on the hydrological
  cycle.

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• Project funding
• Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y
  Tecnologicas (CONICIT). Grant No. G98-001124.
• Institutions involved
• Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones
  Científicas (IVIC), Caracas-Venezuela
• Universidad Simón Bolívar (USB),
  Caracas-Venezuela
• Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG) Parupa
  Scientific Station, Bolivar state-Venezuela

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La Gran Sabana Canaima National Park Bolivar
State Venezuela
La Gran Sabana high plateau is a complex
mosaic, constituted by forests, shrubs and
savanna communities
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Lessons Learnt

• International endorsment is very positive to
  increase opportunities of national funding
• Local networks are created by first gathering the
  people with common interests and second,
  developing an agenda to consolidate the research
  group around a common objective
• It is possible to integrate the local communities
  into the science plan

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• The foremost problem is the tremendous social,
  political and economic crisis of our countries
• It is undermining the essential local support for
  research (i.e. CONICIT grant)
• Canceling our perspectives of growth (no new
  positions)
• Promoting the migration of talented, trained
  young scientists (some to any kind of job)
• Deteriorating conditions to do field as well as
  lab work
• Menacing the future continuity of our research
  groups

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Global Change Research for the People

• The project Biosphere Atmosphere Interactions
  in La Gran Sabana, Canaima National Park, Bolivar
  State has contributed to the preparation and
  incorporation of local indigenous populations
  into the planning, management and protection of
  the area.
• Researches have participated in several workshops
  about natural resources management and the use of
  fire, which is the main problem threatening the
  region.
• Our students have played a key role in the
  training, teaching and advising of young members
  of these communities in areas such as
  environmental education, fire protection and
  agriculture.

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A workshop with the local communities and the
local fire brigades
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Conclusion
True integration between national and
international scientific communities seems to be
the only way to increase the sense of urgency in
earth system science participation at a national
level. Creation and continuity of scientific
networks for regional integrated studies
represents a great opportunity to strengthen
scientific community building and the training of
students and scientists.
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Thank you!