Ecosystem multifunctionality under environmental change

• Grant number: 14/50452-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: December 01, 2014
• End date: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Agreement: Imperial College, UK
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Grantee: Luiz Antonio Martinelli
• Principal researcher abroad: Cristina Banks-Leite
• Institution abroad: Imperial College London, England
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/09800-0 - Nutrient dynamics in Atlantic Forest fragments located in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, AP.R

Abstract

The mobility project we propose under this Call has three main aims: (I) briefly review the main topics on tropical ecosystem functioning and the provision of services under environmental change, (II) identify critical gaps of knowledge and (III) submit a grant proposal to collect field data in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil that will answer these questions. The first meeting will take place in Brazil, where most of the Brazil and Imperial College (IC) group will meet for the first time. In this meeting, we will be addressing points II, and I and we will conduct a reconnaissance trip to the study areas, which will be part of the grant proposal (point III). After the first meeting, we will have a clear understanding of the main gaps of knowledge, list of key questions that can be feasibly addressed during the life of a research grant, the methods that will be used to collect and analyses data, and an initial budget. We will also assess the need for contacting more collaborators. The majority of the grant proposal (III) will be written between the first and the second meeting. However, because of the multidisciplinary nature of the study, the difficulties of combining different methods and peculiarities of matching funding requirements in Brazil and in the UK, we plan to then meet again at Imperial College before the deadline of a NERC Standard Grant. In this last meeting, we will finalized the project proposal to maximize our chances of being successful for a joint grant between Brazilian and UK or European funding agencies. (AU)