The role of rivers on the regional carbon cycle

Abstract

This project aims to develop the tools to describe comprehensively the biogeochemistry of fluvial systems in the Amazon and the Pantanal and their role in regional and global carbon (C) cycles, in order to predict their influence and responses to a changing climate. Understand and coping with changes in ecosystems functioning demands a profound knowledge of intra and interannual variations. Models based on point data or site specific information do not allow accurate extrapolations. By extending both in duration and in coverage, our studies on fluvial systems will provide not only the necessary information about the cycles of C and other essential nutrients in these systems, but will also allow the development and validation of both riverine system models and their feedback on the global C models. This project relates not only directly to theme (a) of FAPESP PFPMCG, entitled ‘consequences of global climatic changes in the functioning of ecosystems, with emphasis on biodiversity and the cycles of water, carbon and nitrogen’, but it goes further than that to examine the cycle of other important nutrients, such as phosphorus. By tracking the role of fluvial systems in the regional C cycle, it will also be directly related to the design of the Brazilian climate model. Our main objective is to produce enough scientific information about the functioning of fluvial systems in the Amazon and the Pantanal to be able to develop basin-scale heuristic models linked to regional C cycle and-allowing to predict their responses to global climate change. Throughout the project we will be running extensive sampling at all sites, in order to obtain enough information to describe their functioning. In the last phase of the project (Iast two years) we will be able t use this consolidated database to develop and validate the hydro biogeochemical models. (AU)