Project description
Understanding Congo Basin’s response to climate change
The African rainforest serves as a persistent carbon sink and plays a crucial role in local and foreign economies. However, concerns have been raised regarding the drought resilience of tropical tree species in the region due to a long-term drying trend observed through remote sensing data and tree ring stable isotope measurements. The EU-funded COBADIM project aims to enhance our understanding of how African tropical tree species respond to changing climatological conditions in the central Congo Basin. The project will employ a combination of ecophysiological and dendrochronological research, along with a model-based approach, to integrate various data streams and develop a data-informed mechanistic ecosystem model known as MuSICA. COBADIM’s research approach will provide estimates on the vulnerability of tree species to drought conditions.
Objective
The African rainforest, is the second largest on Earth, covers ~630 million ha and stores up to 66 Pg of carbon and is presently a persistent carbon sink. In addition, African rainforest support the forestry sector which contributes 3-6% of the gross domestic product across the Congo Basin with most foreign export directed to Europe. As such, African rainforest currently represents both a local and foreign economic driver and provides important ecosystem services through the negative feedback on the global carbon cycle. Both remote sensing data and tree ring stable isotope measurements have shown that these forests are currently being subjected to a long-term drying trend, raising fears over the drought resilience of tropical tree species and the persistence and magnitude of this important terrestrial carbon sink. Here, we combine eco-physiological and dendrochronological research with a model based approach to increase our understanding of the response of African tropical tree species under changing climatological conditions across the central Congo Basin. We will integrate several data streams including inventory data on soil properties and associated leaf traits, wood traits, phenology, retrospective dendrochronology and wood core stable isotope and calcium tracer time series, in order to constrain a data-informed mechanistic ecosystem model (MuSICA). Using a novel tracer experiment we will corroborate the use of a calcium [Ca] tracer in tropical tree species for rapid dating and eco-physiological research into drought resistance. Accurate model predictions, based upon Ca tracer measurements made during this action, will provide estimates of the vulnerability of tree species to future drought conditions. Our results will have important policy implications as the demise of important tree species could have significant effects on ecosystem services, e.g. affecting the carbon balance, as well as a direct economic impact on sustainable local and EU timber trade.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology dendrochronology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
75007 PARIS CEDEX 07
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.