Ires: ecological resilience of afromontane forests

Federal Grant Award Summary

Bryant University received a $416,261 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Office of International Science and Engineering (CFDA 47.079) effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2029. This International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) award funds an integrated research and educational program investigating the ecological resilience of Afromontane forests in the Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania. The project delivers comprehensive training and mentorship to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students through a three-stage model: preparatory training at Bryant University, field research and sediment core sampling in Tanzania conducted in collaboration with the University of Dar es Salaam, and laboratory analysis at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany. Students engage in paleoenvironmental analysis to reconstruct the region's long-term ecological history from early-to-mid Holocene sediments, producing new data on human-environment interactions and developing conservation strategies for biodiversity hotspot protection.

The primary deliverables include foundational paleoenvironmental data and an ecological resilience model for Eastern Africa that informs understanding of forest responses to climate and environmental change. The award emphasizes international scientific collaboration across U.S., Tanzanian, and German research institutions while prioritizing ethical community engagement and capacity building for local partners. This represents the first effort to retrieve and analyze early-to-mid Holocene sediments from the Usambara Mountains, addressing critical conservation needs in a global biodiversity hotspot threatened by changing rainfall patterns, urban development, and agricultural expansion.

Abstract

This ires project engages U.S. Undergraduate and graduate students in research on the long-term climate and environmental history and resilience of the afromontane forests of the usambara mountains in northeastern tanzania, an area widely known as a global biodiversity hotspot, rich with plant and animal species found nowhere else on earth. However, changing rainfall patterns, urban development, and expanding agriculture are endangering the mountain ecosystems. This ires project gives participating students the opportunity to explore how these forests have responded to past environmental changes to better understand future impacts. Through research experiences with scientists in the united states, tanzania, and germany, participating students are helping to reconstruct the region?s long-term ecological history and develop conservation plans for the forests. Under the leadership of bryant university, in collaboration with tanzanian and german researchers, this ires project investigates the ecological history of the usambara mountains to reveal past forest responses and inform potential future resilience. Through the student research activities, U.S. Students receive preparatory training at bryant, conduct fieldwork and sediment core sampling in tanzania in collaboration with the university of DAR ES salaam, and laboratory analysis in germany at the max planck institute of geoanthropology. This project is the first effort to retrieve early-to-mid holocene, and possibly even older, sediments from the usambaras. By analyzing multiple paleoenvironmental indicators, this research produces a new ecological resilience model for eastern africa and contributes foundational data to the study of human-environment interactions. The project emphasizes training and mentorship, international collaboration, and ethical community engagement, ensuring that both local partners and students benefit from the research and its long-term impacts. 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.- subawards are not planned for this award.