U'S' Department of Energy Office of Science

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U.S. Department of EnergyOffice of Science
BERAC Review of Terrestrial Carbon Cycle
Research Program
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The BERAC Charge to Review BERs Terrestrial
Carbon Cycle Research Program

• The What, How, When, and Why of the Review
• Review includes entire BER portfolio of
  terrestrial carbon cycle research, including that
  funded through the National Institute for Global
  Environmental Change (NIGEC)
• Convene subcommittee of appropriate experts to
  undertake the review
• Plan to have subcommittee report the preliminary
  findings/recommendations to BERAC at the fall
  2005 meeting
• BER will use review to make adjustments where
  appropriate and needed in the program prior to
  its next solicitation for proposals

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Focus of review
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Examples of Issues and Questions

• Ways that the current program will contribute to
  long term goal of BERs Climate Change Research
  Division. BERAC asked to comment on draft
  performance metrics of that goal.
• How the program will help reduce uncertainties
  about the role of the terrestrial biosphere as a
  source or sink of atmospheric CO2?
• Is the current focus of the program, which is on
  the North American Carbon Plan, an appropriate
  near-term priority?
• Is the programs balance of experimental and
  process studies, observations, and modeling
  studies appropriate, and are the interactions
  between these elements adequate?
• Are the BER-funded AmeriFlux sites operating as
  an effective integrated network, and is AmeriFlux
  providing data that will help reduce
  uncertainties about the quantitative role of
  terrestrial ecosystems in the global carbon
  balance?
• Are the FACE experiments providing useful and
  relevant process data and information for
  interpreting the direct effects of elevated CO2
  on terrestrial plants, communities and ecosystems
  and understanding the capacity of terrestrial
  ecosystems to sequester carbon from the
  atmosphere under future potential elevated
  atmospheric CO2 concentrations?