Paraopeba

Present and future functioning of Carbon and Nitrogen related ecosystem processes in the Brasilian savanna (Cerrado).

P.I. João Augusto Alves Meira Neto

The largest region of Neotropical savanna vegetation in the world is the Cerrado, and occurs entirely within Brazil, covering 24% of this country. Because of its extension and biodiversity, the Cerrado plays a significant role on the regional and global biogeochemistry, but it has been largely ignored and little is known about its functioning, and how climate change will affect it.

We are carrying out a multidisciplinary and comprehensive study that aims to understand the functioning, the controls, and the response to realistic climate change scenarios of locally and globaly important ecosystem processes related to carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and storage in the Cerrado.

We specifically intend to understand: 1) how soil C- and N-related pools and ecosystem processes vary between two contrasted and important Cerrado physiognomies (savannic cerrado and cerrado woodland); 2) the effect of projected changes in precipitation on soil diversity and soil C- and N-related pools and processes in both physiognomies, and their feedback to climate change; 3) how plant and soil diversity (i.e. microbes and invertebrates) are related and how they are linked to C- and N-related pools and processes at present and under future climate change scenarios.