Evaluating and upscaling leaf-atmosphere water fluxes of in situ understory plants subjected to elevated CO2 in Central Amazon

• Grant number: 23/02700-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 25, 2023
• End date: October 24, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: David Montenegro Lapola
• Grantee: Gabriel Banstarck Marandola
• Supervisor: Martin De Kauwe
• Host Institution: Centro de Pesquisas Meteorológicas e Climáticas Aplicadas à Agricultura (CEPAGRI). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Bristol, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/14348-5 - Evaluation of CO2 rising effects on understory vegetation transpiration in Central Amazonia through an experiment-modeling integrated approach., BP.MS

Abstract

The Amazon Forest vegetation responses to climate change are still far from being fully understood, especially when the focus is not on the forest canopy stratum. Concerning the changes in water use related to rising atmospheric CO2 levels, the distinct responses between forest strata of the Amazon are still uncertain. Thus, this project aims to elucidate, in relation to the rising CO2 levels, the transpiration responses of Central Amazon understory plants, which may influence the entire region due to forest-atmosphere water flux disturbances. To accomplish this goal, we will evaluate individuals exposed to elevated CO2 levels growing inside an open-top chamber experiment, assessing its stomatal conductance and estimating the transpiration. The project also requires the use of mathematical models, which can estimate stomatal conductance levels for the local conditions and also provide an estimation on understory transpiration based on the measured data. For the execution of the tasks regarding model use, we propose an exchange period at the School of Biological Sciences from the University of Bristol, where professor Martin De Kauwe, an expert in this specific field, will assist the beneficiary researcher, guaranteeing a robust comparison. With this model comparison, we expect to obtain a solid understanding between the stomatal conductance and transpiration behaviors of the analyzed plants in each chamber and an estimation on how the measured data reflects what may happen at the understory community level, shedding light on the responses of this forest stratum to climate change. (AU)