This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program provides $2,453,417 to Yale University to study how forest fragmentation and climate change impacts the Amazon rainforest ecosystem. The key products and services to be delivered include:
Field-based measurements of forest dynamics, animal exclusion experiments, and remote sensing mapping to examine how changes in tree species and animal populations affect the resilience of Amazon forest edges to disturbances like drought and wildfires.
Ecophysiological data collection, forest inventory analyses, and animal activity monitoring across three Amazon regions to understand interconnections between global changes, tree traits, and ecosystem vulnerability.
Advanced remote sensing and species distribution modeling to quantify Amazon forest vulnerability to climate change and fragmentation at the basin-wide scale.
This interdisciplinary, collaborative project integrates U.S. and Brazilian researchers, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. A $80,005 subaward to the non-profit Instituto De Pesquisa Ambiental DA Amazonia (IPAM) will support data analysis, ecological modeling, and communication efforts. The project aims to provide critical insights for preserving and restoring the Amazon, one of the world's most vital ecosystems.