I. PURPOSE OF THIS NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT

This National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Research Announcement (NRA) solicits proposals for ecological research to be conducted as part of the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazônia (LBA). The broad goal of this ecological research program is to improve our understanding of the effects of tropical forest conversion on ecosystem function and the sustainability of land use. The science question that will focus this study is:

How do tropical forest conversion, re-growth, and selective logging, influence carbon storage, nutrient dynamics, and trace gas fluxes in Amazônia?

[or we could revert to the Piracicaba version which I actually like better, but admit may promise more on sustainability that we may be able to deliver -- OPINIONS?]

How do tropical forest conversion, re-growth, and selective logging, influence carbon storage, nutrient dynamics, trace gas fluxes, and the prospect for sustainable land use in Amazônia?

"Forest conversion" refers to forest clearing and conversion to agricultural uses, especially cattle pasture, and "forest re-growth" refers to forest growth following the abandonment of agricultural lands. The question calls for an explicit consideration of the effects of these land-cover and land-use changes on terrestrial carbon and nutrient budgets, the fluxes of trace gases between the land and the atmosphere, and the exchange of materials between the land and river systems. Implicitly, the question also calls for an understanding of these budgets, fluxes and exchanges in "primary" or pre-disturbance forest ecosystems, and for an understanding of the social, political, and economic drivers of forest conversion and land use in Amazônia (Manaus Workshop Report, 1995). This question identifies regional issues that are best addressed through an approach integrating field research, remote sensing, and modeling.

Proposals for research that address this question are solicited in the general areas of carbon storage and exchange; nutrient dynamics (terrestrial and aquatic); trace gas fluxes; and land cover and land use change, including the human dimensions of land use change. Collectively, these general research areas constitute the NASA ecological contribution to LBA, which, solely for the purposes of this announcement, will hereafter be referred to as LBA-Ecology.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Forest Conversion and Sustainable Development in Amazônia

The world's tropical forests are experiencing unprecedented rates of clearing and conversion to various forms of land use. Population growth and economic development efforts in tropical countries will ensure continued pressures to increase settlement within tropical forests and to utilize their resources. Of vital importance in developing sustainable management and exploitation systems for tropical forests are the questions of how much human activities affect the forests' basic capacities to renew themselves and of how to safeguard basic ecological processes such as biological productivity and the cycling of nutrients and water.

Recent remote sensing studies show that large areas of tropical forests in South America have been changed from forest to pasture or agricultural land (Skole and Tucker, 1993). Amazônia, a vast area of nearly 7 million square kilometers, contains almost one half of the world's undisturbed tropical evergreen forest and a large area of tropical savanna. Since the massive road-building efforts of the 1960's and 1970's, the Brazilian portion of the Amazon has experienced considerable development. Large areas of forest and savanna have been cleared and converted to cattle pastures or row-crop fields in several states including Mato Grosso, Pará and Rondônia. Selective logging has changed the structure and composition of forested areas, particularly in eastern Pará and along river courses.

Based on the body of research to date (see references in Manaus Workshop Report, 1995), we know that these activities have caused changes in carbon and nutrient budgets on land, the fluxes of gases between the land and the atmosphere, and the exchange of materials between the land and river systems. Additional research is needed to refine our understanding of the magnitudes of the changes and the controls on key biogeochemical processes in Amazônia's ecosystems. An understanding of these controls is essential for us to develop predictions of the consequences of changes in land cover and land use. All of these changes may have climatic, ecological, and environmental implications for the region, the continent, and the entire Earth system and, therefore, are of interest to the NASA Mission to Planet Earth (MTPE) research program.

B. Relevance to NASAís MTPE Research Program

NASAís MTPE focuses on studying how the global environment is changing. Using the unique perspective available from space, NASA observes, monitors, and assesses large-scale environmental processes. MTPE satellite data, complemented by aircraft and ground data, enable us to better understand environmental changes, to determine how human activities have contributed to these changes, and to understand the consequences of such changes. MTPE data, which NASA distributes to researchers worldwide, are essential to humans for making informed decisions about sustainable land use and environmental protection (NASA, 1996a).

MTPEís new Science Research Plan identifies Land Cover and Land Use Change (LCLUC) as one of five research priorities for the period 1996-2002 (NASA, 1996b). LBA-Ecology has been shaped to be responsive to this priority and will be focused to provide answers to specific questions about the effects of forest conversion that will provide a scientific basis for decision-making on sustainable land use in tropical ecosystems. NASA envisions LBA as a means toward advancing sustainable development in the region. One specific LBA goal is to strengthen ties between LBA science and regional institutions so that the knowledge generated by LBA can be used to address environmental issues that affect development in Amazônia.

Another of MTPEís five priorities is Seasonal-to-Interannual Climate Prediction. LBA-Ecology will contribute to this priority through examination of seasonal and interannual variations in vegetation and ecosystem processes and their relationship to climate. There is a reasonable expectation that the effects of an El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle might be observed during LBA-Ecology.

NASA has a long and successful history of using its unique capabilities to conduct remote sensing-oriented field research campaigns. LBA-Ecology will be next in the series of land surface/ecology field campaigns, following the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS). The overall program of research for these campaigns includes a balance of field observations and experiments, aircraft- and space-based remote sensing, and modeling with emphasis on questions that can be effectively addressed though the use of airborne and satellite data.

The time-frame for LBA-Ecology will coincide with that for several major new national and international satellite missions (e.g., EOS AM-1, Landsat 7, TRMM) and opens opportunities for exciting new applications of remotely sensed data and collaborations with instrument science teams. LBA-Ecology can offer a well-characterized test site, with abundant in situ and remote sensing data, for new sensor and data product evaluation. In turn, these new satellite missions can offer advanced data products to address LBA-Ecology goals.

C. LBA

LBA is an international research initiative lead by Brazil. LBA is designed to create the new knowledge needed to understand the climatological, ecological, biogeochemical, and hydrological functioning of Amazônia, the impact of land use change on these functions, and the interactions between Amazônia and the Earth system. LBA is centered around two key questions that will be addressed through multi-disciplinary research, integrating studies in the physical, chemical, biological, and human sciences:

How does Amazônia currently function as a regional entity?

How will changes in land use and climate affect the biological, chemical, and physical functions of Amazônia, including the sustainability of development in the region and the influence of Amazônia on global climate?

In LBA emphasis is given to observations and analyses which will enlarge the knowledge base for Amazônia in six general areas: Physical Climate, Carbon Storage and Exchange, Biogeochemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry, Land Surface Hydrology and Water Chemistry, and Land Use and Land Cover. These are the LBA science ìcomponents.î LBA is described in more detail in the 1996 Concise Experimental Plan (The LBA Science Planning Group, 1996; see Appendix F for internet access).

LBA will be implemented as a group of complementary research modules, each with its own subset of goals and objectives and funding sponsor(s). LBA-Ecology constitutes one of these modules. The proposed Atmospheric Chemistry contribution, called Transport and Chemistry near the Equator - B (TRACE-B), and the proposed mesoscale catchment experiment are other such modules. The plan for LBA is to conduct the research within these modules concurrently and to integrate them to the maximum degree possible through: (1) joint planning of the programs; (2) sharing of field sites, equipment, and logistical support; (3) exchange of data; (4) development of simulation models that couple the key physical, chemical and biological processes operating at various space and time scales in Amazônia, and (5) joint synthesis and scientific integration of results.

III. LBA-ECOLOGY: TYPES OF PROPOSALS REQUESTED

A. Scientific Scope of LBA-Ecology in Relation to LBA.

The NASA-sponsored ecological research within LBA will focus primarily on the forest conversion aspects of the second LBA question. This will include research activities within the following LBA components: Carbon Storage and Exchange, Biogeochemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry (ground-based and limited light aircraft-based observations only), Land Surface Hydrology and Water Chemistry (limited research into the dynamics of surface water chemistry only), and Land Use and Land Cover. However, it is expected that many of the observations to be made and analyses to be conducted will contribute to addressing the LBA questions concerning climatic change and regional function as well.

NASA may sponsor additional research under the Atmospheric Chemistry, Physical Climate, and Land Surface Hydrology components of LBA. If so, such opportunities will be announced separately in the future.

B. Planning for LBA-Ecology.

The planning for a study of the ecological and biogeochemical consequences of land use and land cover changes in the Amazon has been underway since the early 1990's. Scientists from institutions in the U.S., Brazil, other South American countries, and Europe participated. The key institutions involved were Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), NASA, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), and the Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA) da Universidade de São Paulo (USP).

Plans for LBA-Ecology were developed through a series of workshops and steering committee meetings. The key workshops were: September, 1993, Brasilia, Brazil (which developed the "AMBIACE" and "TAHBIS" concepts joint with atmospheric chemists and resulted in a series of papers in Revista Brasileira de Geofísica (Kirchhoff, 1994; Wofsy et al., 1994); May, 1994, Piracicaba, Brazil; May, 1995, Manaus, Brazil (Manaus Workshop Report, 1995); and December, 1995, Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil (Hall et al., 1996). Aspects of LBA-Ecology can also be traced to the early ìLAMBADA-BATERISTAî workshops (Sellers, et. al., 1992).

The Manaus Workshop Report is the most detailed and definitive description of the ecological goals, research questions, and activities underlying the LBA-Ecology module (see Appendix F for electronic access information). The Remote Sensing Workshop Report provides similar background for the remote sensing goals, research questions, and activities underlying remote sensing in LBA as a whole (see Appendix F for electronic access information). Both cover a broad range of science requirements and research activities consistent with the LBA-Ecology science question, but do not provide a research strategy or set priorities. This announcement attempts to provide the strategy and priorities. In addition, five synthesis papers were developed as a result of the Manaus workshop and are now in press in Ciencia e Cultura (Fernandes et al., 1996; Keller et al., 1996; Nepstad et al., 1996; Richey et al., 1996; and Houghton, 1996).

LBA-Ecology has its roots in past work conducted under the auspices of NASA's Amazon Ground Emissions (AGE) study, the 1991 NASA Tropical Carbon Cycling initiative, NASAís Global Troposphere Experiment (GTE) program (including ABLE-2A and -2B and TRACE-A), and many other programs sponsored by other national and international organizations. It has been emphasized during the planning that LBA-Ecology must build upon the results of this body of past work. Activities to integrate data and synthesize past results have been part of LBA planning to date (e.g., the 5 synthesis papers), and more such work will be required during the early phase of LBA.

Inspiration for the science objectives and research design was derived from several International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) Core Project plans, including

Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) (Steffan, et al., 1992), primarily Focus 1 (Ecosystem Physiology) and Focus 2 (Change in Ecosystem Structure); International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project (Pszenny and Prinn, 1994), primarily Biosphere-Atmosphere Trace Gas Exchange in the Tropics: Influence of Land Use Change (BATGE); Biospheric Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (BAHC) (BAHC Core Project Office, 1993), primarily Focus 2 (Regional-Scale Studies of Land-Surface Properties and Fluxes), but also Foci 1 and 3; and, especially, the IGBP Terrestrial Transects Science Plan (Koch et al., 1995) and the new IGBP/International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (LUCC) Core Project (Turner, et al., 1995). At the First IGBP Congress in April, 1996, LBA as a whole was identified as a candidate to become an new type of IGBP research activity, called an ìInterproject,î because of its broad interdisciplinary nature and multi-national scope (Lunter, 1996).

LBA-Ecology has been designed specifically to provide a significant portion of the research necessary to implement the Humid Tropical Forest Transect in the Amazon Basin called for in the IGBP Terrestrial Transects Science Plan (Koch et al., 1995).

Planning for LBA-Ecology also has been conducted in parallel with that for the scientific research agenda of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) (Grove, 1995a) and the scientific priorities identified by each have influenced the development of the other. LBA addresses many of the scientific priorities of the Tropical Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles research theme of the IAI (Grove, 1995b). It is anticipated that LBA also will work closely with IAI on training and educational activities.

C. Resources Available from NASA

NASA plans to select and fund approximately 35 proposals to conduct LBA-Ecology investigations that will address the research questions and activities identified in this announcement for a period of up to 3 1/2 years, with an option for review and renewal for up to another 2 1/2 years. Approximately $6 million per year will be made available for LBA-Ecology, with additional funding planned for a major remote sensing aircraft deployment to South America. Funds for the LBA-Ecology Project have not been appropriated yet. NASA expects to carry out this project within current guidelines for the MTPE research and analysis program without any enhancements to those funds.

Approximately $1 million per year is available from the NASA LCLUC Program to address the research on land cover and land use change described in Section III-D-1, III-F and elsewhere below. Approximately 5-8 investigations will be funded. [IS THIS RIGHT LCLUC FOLKS? ADDITIONS?] The intention to support this work in LBA was announced in NRA-96-MTPE-03 where it was stated that Amazônian studies would be sought through a joint solicitation with the Terrestrial Ecology (TE) Program. This is that joint solicitation seeking LCLUC studies in Amazônia. NRA-96-MTPE-03 may be consulted for additional information about the scope and initial priorities of the LCLUC Program.

Approximately $5 million per year is available from the NASA TE Program to address research in all areas described in Sections III-D and III-F and elsewhere below. This sum includes Project Office support. Additional resources of approximately $1 million are being planned for 1999 to cover a major airborne remote sensing campaign. It is anticipated that approximately 30 investigations will be funded, although this number is very hard to predict without knowing how broadly or narrowly (single/multiple questions, measurements, and/or sites) investigators will propose. It is anticipated that a single, intensive field task might cost $300,000 or more per year, but that some modeling, data compilation, or remote sensing data analysis tasks might cost less than $100,000 per year.

D. Science Themes

The LBA-Ecology science question requires research under five major science themes: 1) land-cover and land-use change, 2) carbon storage and exchange, 3) plant and soil nutrient cycling, 4) trace gas fluxes, and 5) dynamics of surface-water chemistry. Subsidiary research questions have been identified under each of these themes (see also Manaus Workshop Report, 1995). Emphasis in LBA-Ecology across these five themes will not be equal. Changes in land use and carbon dynamics will receive particular emphasis. Studies of the dynamics of water chemistry will be limited to on-going (already funded) research and, perhaps, a few new tasks to interrelate the nutrient dynamics of a site with its hydrological dynamics -- which will be investigated by other LBA modules.

[JANETOS TO EDIT

1. Determination of changes in land cover and land use. Research on changes in land cover and land use should focus on documentation of past and current land-cover and land-use changes throughout Amazônia and on development of a capability to predict the location and magnitude of future land-cover and land-use changes in the region. The following questions are to be addressed:

What are the rates and mechanisms of forest conversion to agricultural land-uses, and what is the relative importance of these land-uses?

At what rate are converted lands abandoned to secondary forests; what is the fate of these converted lands, and what are the overall dynamic patterns of land conversion and abandonment?

What is the area of forest that is affected by selective logging each year?

What are plausible scenarios of future land-cover change in Amazônia?

Three scales of investigation are envisioned. First, Amazônia-wide studies of the rate, location and spatial pattern of deforestation and forest alteration will be conducted using satellite remote sensing, government statistics, and survey data. At a second level of analysis, case studies and field investigations will be carried out in conjunction with multi-temporal, high-resolution satellite data to gain insight into local-scale dynamics of deforestation, abandonment, and second-growth turnover. These case-study analyses would use data from census documents and from new surveys to define the parameters that control local land-use strategies, which would in turn illustrate how changes in land use affects changes in land cover. Because the causes of deforestation also may significantly relate to external institutional and economic factors, an elucidation of driving forces cannot be made with satellite data, surveys, and field studies alone. To develop a predictive model of land-cover and land-use changes, a third level of analysis will be necessary to define the social, economic, and political factors and conditions that are creating these changes.

SHOULD WE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT BIODIVERSITY HERE?]

As a very rough estimate, approximately $1,500,000 per year will be allocated for studies of changes in land cover and land use.

2. Carbon Storage and Exchange. Research on the terrestrial carbon budget will involve quantification of the magnitude of the carbon pools in vegetation and soils of intact forests and savannas, pastures, cultivated lands, and second-growth and selectively-logged forests. It will also involve quantification of the rates of carbon exchange among the atmosphere, vegetation, and soils, and of the ways these rates are altered by natural and human disturbances. The following questions are to be addressed:

What are the sizes of the carbon pools in the vegetation and soils of intact, secondary, and selectively-logged forests, savannas, and agricultural lands?

What are the net rates of carbon exchange between the atmosphere, vegetation, and soils? What are the relative contributions of fluxes from natural and disturbed ecosystems to the net basin-wide flux? (To what degree do natural sinks and sequestration of carbon in re-growing forests balance or offset sources associated with deforestation and selective logging?)

How will changes in land use affect the net carbon balance (i.e., size of the pools and the rates of exchange) between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere in Amazônia?

What is the seasonal and interannual variability of the carbon dioxide flux between the atmosphere and different land-cover/land-use types and from the Amazon region as a whole?

The major issues and uncertainties underlying these questions relate to 1) Amazoniaís contribution to the global carbon budget (is it a source or a sink for carbon?), 2) how this contribution is being, and will be, altered by changes in land cover and land use, and 3) how changes in carbon stores and fluxes brought about by land use change and varying management practices impact the sustainability of agriculture in the region. It is desired to conduct analyses that will aid Amazônian nations in meeting Climate Convention requirements. A need to better understand the influences of climatic variability on seasonal and interannual variability of carbon dynamics also motivates these questions.

Methods to be considered for estimates of carbon stocks include destructive sampling, annual re-visits to measure change, and advanced remote sensing techniques. Methods to be considered for carbon flux estimates include aircraft- and tower-based eddy correlation, chamber-based measurements, and soil, plant, and water biogeochemical assays. Chronosequences of pasture age or time since a change in management practice and manipulative experiments may be conducted. Remote sensing approaches to quantify biomass or re-growth stages in secondary forests may be explored. Process-based modeling of carbon exchange will be necessary. Models, combined with GIS and remotely sensed information, may be used to provide estimates of regional exchange of carbon. Analyses of multi-year data sets to characterize seasonal and interannual variability of carbon dynamics may be conducted. It is anticipated that regional carbon balance and climate variability studies will be LBA-wide research endeavors, with contributions from all science components and funded modules.

As a very rough estimate, approximately $2,000,000 per year will be allocated for studies of carbon storage and exchange.

3. Nutrient Cycling. Research on plant and soil nutrient dynamics will involve quantification of the magnitude of the nutrient pools in vegetation and soils of intact forests and savannas, pastures, cultivated lands, and second-growth and selectively-logged forests. It will also involve quantification of the rates of nutrient cycling within the system and of the ways these rates are altered by natural and human disturbances. Nitrogen and phosphorus are nutrients of major interest. The following questions are to be addressed:

How do the stocks, cycling rates and budgets of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and aluminum change under the different land covers and land uses?

What are the major factors that control the sustainability of agricultural productivity and the rates of re-growth and carbon accumulation in abandoned pastures and re-growing secondary forests?

The major issues and uncertainties underlying these questions relate to the effects of forest conversion and land use practices on soil fertility and the long-term sustainability of agriculture in Amazônia. Land use changes of interest are forest conversion to pasture, selective logging, slash and burn agriculture, pasture degradation and abandonment, secondary re-growth, and conversion of cerrado to pasture and row crop agriculture. Of particular interest are changes in the exchanges of nutrients among the soils, vegetation, atmosphere, and river systems of Amazônia that occur as agricultural lands age and/or degrade and abandoned lands recover or enter into repeating cycles of use, abandonment, and re-growth.

Measurements and process studies to be conducted for nutrient cycling are very analogous to those to be made for carbon, and in most cases they should be conducted together. Standard methods (see Manaus Workshop Report, 1995) should be utilized to measure stocks and fluxes of nutrients, and process studies to understand the important environmental controls on them should be conducted. Chronosequence studies and experiments involving amendments may be conducted. Investigations to identify agricultural practices that are more beneficial ecologically or have potential for long-term sustainability may be conducted. Modeling of nutrient dynamics is expected. Remote sensing approaches to assess site conditions and/or ecosystem vigor may be explored

As a very rough estimate, approximately $1,000,000 per year will be allocated for studies of nutrient dynamics.

4. Trace gas fluxes. Research on trace gas fluxes, will focus on quantification of the fluxes between the terrestrial biosphere and the atmosphere and determination of how various factors control these fluxes. First priority will be given to studies of nitrogen oxides and methane for which natural and managed systems in the Amazon constitute a significant global source. In addition to its contributions to the goals of LBA-Ecology, this trace gas flux research will provide a significant foundation for a potential aircraft-based expedition that is currently being planned by the Tropospheric Chemistry Program at NASA (i.e., TRACE-B) and by other atmospheric chemistry programs. It will, therefore, include measurements of concentrations and fluxes, with associated data analysis, of additional chemical constituents important to the Atmospheric Chemistry goals. The following questions are to be addressed:

How are the fluxes of trace gases between ecosystems (both uplands and wetlands) and the atmosphere of Amazônia affected by forest conversion and land use?

How does land use change affect the oxidant balance in Amazônia?

The major issues and uncertainties underlying these questions relate to the effects of forest conversion in Amazônia on global atmospheric greenhouse gas budgets and the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere. Addressing these issues will also aid Amazônian nations in meeting Climate Convention requirements. Equally important, is the desire to quantify the losses of nutrients from plants and soils and their relationship to sustainable agriculture.

Methods to be considered include use of enclosures or chambers for rapid measurements of long-lived and some reactive gases from soils and vegetation and micrometeorological methods for continuous or regular measurements of many trace gases. Experimental manipulations and/or isotope tracers could be used for studies of mechanisms controlling trace gas production and emission. Remote sensing analyses to characterize land cover, especially spatial extent and temporal duration of inundation, should be conducted. Process-oriented models of trace gas fluxes are desired, as are models to provide estimates of regional exchanges.

Surface-based observations that would support of the Atmospheric Chemistry aircraft expeditionís goals should focus on determining the concentrations of key reactive and greenhouse gases and aerosols at the surface and defining the primary influences on those concentrations. Indicators of biomass burning and industrial activity should be measured along with key reactive species, biogenic reactive hydrocarbons, and greenhouse gases. Budget studies may be possible using atmospheric transport models and ground-based or aircraft-based measurements. It is anticipated that for mesoscale and regional studies this work will be conducted in collaboration with the Atmospheric Chemistry module and possibly other modules of LBA.

As a very rough estimate, approximately $1,200,000 per year will be allocated for studies of trace gas fluxes.

5. Dynamics of Surface-Water Chemistry. Research in this area will focus on the ways in which surface water chemistry is altered by land-cover and land-use change. Changes in the dynamics of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus along gradients from well-drained uplands through wetlands, riparian zones, and streams are of particular interest. The following question will be addressed:

What are the changes in the pathways and fluxes of organic matter, nutrients, and associated elements through river corridors (riparian, floodplain, channels, wetlands) as a function of land cover and land use change?

The major issues underlying this question relate to 1) understanding the pathways of carbon and nutrient loss from agricultural lands and selectively logged forests through terrestrial drainage basins into wetlands and river systems and 2) accounting for subsequent changes in the fluxes of radiatively and chemically important trace gases to the atmosphere from impacted wetlands and river systems.

LBA-Ecology seeks only very limited new research tasks in the dynamics of surface water chemistry. It is believed that on-going research funded by other sponsors can provide much of the observations and understanding necessary to address the LBA-Ecology questions in this area. Thus, this announcement seeks to attract the investigators conducting those investigations to propose for participation in LBA-Ecology. In addition, modest funding may be made available to ensure that LBA-Ecology nutrient dynamics research is appropriately linked to the hydrological research to be conducted under other LBA modules (in particular, the mesoscale catchment experiment) and that fluxes of carbon and nutrients into surface waters and their fate are appropriately considered.

Any LBA-Ecology work on the dynamics of surface water chemistry will be dependent on the detailed plans, infrastructure, and timing for the LBA hydrology and/or mesoscale field experiment modules -- which are not yet settled. For planning purposes, investigators proposing under the LBA-Ecology dynamics of surface water chemistry theme should assume that these hydrological modules will start full field operations in 1999.

As a very rough estimate, approximately $300,000 per year will be allocated for studies of the dynamics of surface water chemistry.

E. Research Approach for LBA-Ecology

An integrated approach involving synthesis of past research results and data sets, modeling, remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS)-based analyses, new field observations and process studies, training and education, and synthesis and integration of new results will be needed to tackle the LBA-Ecology science questions. The challenge of addressing integrated ecosystem responses in a regional context and the imperative to produce results that can be useful to decision-makers require that a strategic, rather than a comprehensive, approach to LBA-Ecology scientific endeavors be pursued. LBA-Ecology cannot attempt to measure every important ecosystem property and/or process in all representative land cover types nor can it afford to repeat past work. If LBA-Ecology is to succeed in answering some or all of the questions posed above, past work in Amazônia must be exploited to the fullest, on-going research (under various sponsors) must be engaged, and new activities must be carefully selected and directed to fill the most critical of gaps and/or to gain the most leverage on major scientific uncertainties. Investigators proposing in response to this announcement should specifically address the importance of their work in filling major gaps and reducing critical scientific uncertainties. They should also take care to be explicit in putting their proposed research into the context of what is already known and in explaining how it builds upon past research.

Planning to date has specified a preliminary field sampling design involving 2 large transects (see Appendix A) that captures the range of variability necessary to address the LBA-Ecology question while constraining the geographic dispersion of new intensive field study sites. The 2 transects span land use intensity and climatic gradients in regions of the Amazon where forest conversion or selective logging have been major factors in shaping the landscape. Along the transects there will be a few intensive, primary research sites (ideally, at least 3 per transect -- one at each end and one near the middle) and many more extensively distributed secondary and auxiliary research sites. The primary sites will be based on clusters of 2-4 flux towers. The tower clusters incorporate a local-scale gradient of land use, providing observations and process studies in each of the predominant land use types (e.g., primary forest, pasture or cropland, secondary forest, selective logging) at that location along the transect.

Continuous or near-continuous observations of a core set of measurements (e.g., carbon and nutrients, trace gas fluxes, micrometeorological conditions, radiation, aerosols, vegetation properties, soil properties) will be made at the primary field sites over a period of 3-5 years. Additional observations and process studies, including manipulative experiments and chronosequence studies, will be conducted at the primary sites and at secondary and auxiliary sites along the two transects.

Time series of satellite observations of Amazônia as a whole and of the sites along the 2 transects will be obtained for LBA. Data from most past and current sensors will be exploited, with Landsat, AVHRR, SPOT, and JERS-1 being the primary sources of data and SSM/I, ERS-1/2, and Radarsat providing supporting data (see acronym list in Appendix A). Close interaction with the Landsat Pathfinder project and with INPEís Amazônian program is anticipated in developing data sets on past and present land cover change. LBA will be in a position to benefit from a wide variety of new sensors on several satellites scheduled for launch in 1997-1999; these satellites include TRMM, EOS AM-1, Landsat 7, CBERS, ENVISAT, and ADEOS II. Planning and preparation for the utilization of this new data stream will be important during the first 2-3 years of LBA, and extensive analysis will be a major emphasis for LBA-Ecology in the years thereafter. Light aircraft may be flown at regular intervals to acquire basic remote sensing data and to measure water, energy, and carbon dioxide fluxes at the primary and secondary research sites.

These longer-term in situ, light aircraft, and satellite-based studies will be augmented by brief, intensive observational campaigns involving use of larger research aircraft and other instruments or capabilities that can only be fielded for short periods of time due to logistical difficulties and/or expense. A major remote sensing aircraft deployment may be proposed as part of LBA-Ecology.

Modeling will be conducted at all stages of the study and will address a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales. In the beginning, models will be used to refine the study design and to identify problem areas within specific models or limitations in data sets and process-level understanding that may need to be addressed before the models can be applied usefully to Amazônian systems. Throughout the study models will be used to capture and test understanding, extend observations and understanding from local to regional (and occasionally global) scales, and predict future ecosystem responses based on scenarios of change.

LBA-Ecology will incorporate a multi-scale perspective focused on achieving understanding of the effects for forest conversion at scales ranging from the local site-level scale to that of the entire Amazônian region. Local-scale measurements and process understanding, in combination with remotely sensed data and GIS data layers, will be used to develop and validate regional-scale models. Research will be conducted to develop and apply methods (e.g., remote sensing, scaling, data assimilation) that can be used to integrate system component models into large-scale simulation models.

F. Types of Activities

All research under LBA-Ecology will be expected to quantify errors and uncertainties associated with data, analytical approaches, and scientific interpretations.

The following types of activities are requested:

1. Synthesis of Past Work. Research to evaluate, integrate, and summarize the results of past research on carbon dynamics, nutrient cycling, trace gas fluxes, and the effects of forest conversion in Amazônia is needed. It is expected that most proposals will address this requirement as a component of the overall research approach, but that a few proposals might offer work wholly dedicated to reviewing past work and providing a synthesis of current understanding. All such proposals must demonstrate how the review and synthesis to be provided will help address one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D.

Existing data sets from public archives and from past research in Amazônia must be accessed and prepared for use by LBA investigators. It is likely that new data sets will need to be compiled to meet the needs of modelers. Other data sets may need to be re-analyzed. Proposals to provide, compile, re-analyze, and/or synthesize existing data sets are sought. All of these proposals must include a data analysis component focused on addressing one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D.

NASA plans to fund approximately 1-3 new tasks dedicated to review and synthesis of past work. It is expected that many more of the proposals to be selected will include such work as one component of a study focused on other research activities.

2. Geographic Information System (GIS). LBA spans a hierarchy of spatial scales. At the largest scale, that of the entire region of Amazônia, a database will be created to include many forms of survey data, both environmental and socio-economic, and remote sensing imagery. These will be organized into a GIS. This database will be used for direct analysis of relationships among data layers and to drive models of all sorts (e.g., ecological, hydrological, climatological, socioeconomic, GCMs) that will endeavor to capture basin-wide system function and explore scenarios of future change for LBA. LBA-Ecology will contribute appropriately to the database development and synthetic and integrative science in this area and will take the lead on developing the human dimensions data on land use change.

Proposals to make available and/or assemble existing and/or newly acquired data sets and data layers for the GIS are sought. All of these proposals must include a data analysis component focused on addressing one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D of this announcement. This research will need to be conducted in close consultation with the LBA Science Team and Project Staff. Some work on such data sets is already underway by Project staff with the goal of providing a "pre-LBA" CD-ROM in 1997. The current plan is for these data sets to be made publicly accessible through the LBA home page as soon as they become available. Future work on such data sets and a GIS will be conducted jointly by the overall LBA Science Team and Project Staff; the exact details of who does what will be determined once the results of this solicitation and other LBA selection processes are known.

NASA plans to fund approximately 2-4 new tasks dedicated to the development of GIS data layers and/or the LBA-Ecology GIS. It is expected that more of the proposals to be selected will include work on a GIS data layer as one component of a study focused on other research activities.

3. Modeling. Modeling is a powerful tool for interpolating and extrapolating observations and process understanding as well as for testing understanding of the modeled linkages of processes within the system and among ecosystems in a landscape. Proposals are requested for modeling research to: 1) identify limitations in data and/or process understanding or to generate predictions that can be used to refine the LBA-Ecology study design, 2) identify and resolve problem areas within specific models that may need to be addressed before they can be applied usefully to Amazônian ecosystems, 3) capture and test understanding derived from LBA-Ecology local-scale process studies, 4) scale LBA-Ecology observations and understanding from local to regional (and possibly global) scales, and 5) predict future ecosystem responses based on realistic scenarios change. Models that operate at differing spatial (e.g., site or stand to entire Amazônian region) and temporal (minutes to centuries) scales are needed. Use of measurements and process understanding to develop and validate process-oriented models of system components is needed to address the research questions relevant at both local and regional spatial scales.

Research to generate Amazônia-wide estimates of net carbon exchange and of how it changes with changes in land cover and land use will be an important goal for LBA-Ecology and for LBA as a whole. Modeling investigations to achieve this objective are strongly encouraged (as are other approaches). It also may be possible to generate regional estimates of net exchanges of certain nutrients and/or trace gases as well; and well-conceived modeling investigations to address other such regional budgets will be welcome. Models that capture the effects of land use change and differing agricultural management practices on site fertility and the sustainability of agricultural production at the local or regional level are encouraged.

[LAND USE & COVER CHANGE MODELING??? JANETOS/JUSTICE]

Investigations that develop linkages among ecological, hydrological, climate, and socio-economic models in order to simulate current Amazônian ecosystem functioning also are desired. Such modeling research is expected to be an LBA-wide endeavor with contributions from all science components and most funded modules. Proposals for research to exercise, further develop, and/or couple existing ecological, hydrological, and socio-economic models as part of LBA-Ecology must address one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D.

All modeling proposals should describe how uncertainties in model results will be characterized and how the model will be validated. Ultimately, it will be the ability to model systems undergoing land-use change that will provide tools for both scientists and decision-makers to evaluate the potential consequences of different management practices, and to assess the consequences of policies that affect land-cover conversion. Thus, work to quantify uncertainties and validate models will be critically important in determining the utility of LBA modeling results and their successful application to sustainable development issues in Amazônia.

It is anticipated that LBA will develop close ties with existing and developing efforts in Earth System Modeling sponsored through the NASA MTPE research and analysis and the NASA EOS Interdisciplinary Science programs. LBA will link into the modeling activities of the IGBP GAIM, GCTE, IGAC, BAHC and LUCC Core Projects and coordinate with international model intercomparison activities, as appropriate.

NASA plans to fund approximately 4-6 new tasks dedicated to modeling. It is expected that other proposals to be selected will include modeling as one component of a study including other research activities. In addition, individuals conducting on-going modeling research, e.g., EOS Interdisciplinary modeling, are encouraged to propose for participation in LBA-Ecology.

4. Remote Sensing. The LBA-Ecology science themes described in Section III-D pose questions that require satellite and airborne remote sensing data. Local, mesoscale, and Amazônia-wide geo-referenced maps of remote sensing-derived land surface, meteorological, and atmospheric properties will be produced: 1) to characterize the regional landscape and its dynamics over the time record of the satellite, 2) to help place the study sites in their correct bioclimatological and geographic context, 3) to provide local to regional scale, spatially continuous data and/or time series of data to drive models, and 4) for scaling studies to integrate, interpolate, and/or extend knowledge gained at the plot level to regional scales.

Proposals are requested to provide the following basic satellite remote sensing data products: land cover type, biophysical properties of land cover, surface radiation and meteorological parameters, surface moisture properties, topography, fire location and extent, and atmospheric aerosol properties. In some cases, algorithm refinement or modification for tropical ecosystems will be a necessary first step. All of these proposals must include a validation plan and either a data analysis component focused on addressing one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D. of this announcement or an explicit description of how it is expected that the data product will be used by other LBA-Ecology participants to address one or more of these questions.

An important application of remote sensing in LBA-Ecology will be in the detection and quantification of varied aspects of land cover and land cover change. It is expected that the data and results from recent work by INPE and the Landsat Pathfinder program to quantify deforestation extent and rates in the Amazon will be made available for LBA. Research to provide one or more repeat analyses for the time period of the LBA-Ecology field work is desired, and it is hoped that these analyses can be continued by these same groups. Research on the following Amazônian land cover topics is of interest for LBA-Ecology: refined discrimination of Amazônian vegetation types; refined discrimination of agricultural cover types; correct classification or quantification of re-growth stages, age classes, or biomass densities; identification of areas experiencing selective logging and quantification of the biomass losses in them; and discrimination of the areal extent and duration of inundation in seasonally flooded forests.

Other topics of interest include: further development and testing of cloud screening and smoke effects removal algorithms; use of radar remote sensing (for applications more traditionally served by optical data) to avoid problems of cloud cover in the wet season and smoke in the dry season; development and/or refinement of algorithms to explore the interannual dynamics of land cover and land use change in Amazônia; and development of optical and microwave methods to monitor vegetation phenology. This list is not exhaustive, and there may be other promising applications; investigators are encouraged to propose and justify the significance of such research.

Research on new or yet unproven applications of remote sensing is desired if 1) the potential return to LBA science can be demonstrated as highly significant and 2) useful applications are achievable within the observational time-frame of LBA-Ecology. A number of promising research areas were identified in the Remote Sensing Workshop report (Hall et al., 1996). The following remote sensing applications are of particularly high priority because of their potential to fill key data gaps and reduce major scientific uncertainties in understanding of regional carbon balance and trace gas fluxes: 1) use of radar from satellite or aircraft or airborne profiling lidar for improved estimates of biomass and/or secondary growth stage in re-growing forests and selectively logged areas, 2) use of microwave data for improved estimates of the areal extent and duration of flooding in seasonally inundated forests and wetlands.

Proposals for new or yet unproven applications of remote sensing that are accepted will be selected for an initial feasibility study before being approved for full incorporation into LBA. Therefore, these proposals must include a section describing a schedule of activities for demonstrating feasibility. Proposers should expect to have the feasibility of their application reviewed by NASA, with assistance from the LBA-Ecology Science Team, after 1-3 years. If such research requires the use of NASA aircraft, every effort should be made to demonstrate feasibility without a deployment to South America.

Satellites and/or sensors potentially available for LBA-Ecology research in the near-term, including several with historical time series, include Landsat, AVHRR, SPOT, ERS-1 & 2, JERS-1, Radarsat, SSM/I, GOES, IRS, and ADEOS. A variety of other data sets, such as the 1994 SIR-C coverage, may also be of value. New satellites and/or sensors that will become available after 1997 or 1998 include TRMM, EOS AM-1 (with MODIS, MISR, ASTER, and CERES), Landsat 7, CBERS, ENVISAT, and ADEOS II. Other possibilities for useful satellite data include the Lewis and Clark technology demonstration satellites, a variety of new high spatial resolution commercial sensors, and SRTM. Investigators planning to use satellite sensor data that will not be available until well into the second or third year of their investigation should either 1) take care to explain how the data can be used to address one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III. D. of this announcement prior to the end of the initial 3 1/2 performance period or 2) consider waiting and proposing the new sensor data analysis for the second phase of LBA-Ecology that will be competed in early 2000. Investigators proposing satellite data analysis should take care to specify how their satellite data will be obtained and, if necessary, to include its purchase in their budget. LBA or LBA-Ecology may obtain certain satellite data sets as core measurements to be provided to the Science Team, but the decisions as to which data sets will be acquired have not yet been made.

It is anticipated that airborne remote sensing instruments will utilized in LBA-Ecology, and a major deployment of NASA remote sensing aircraft has been tentatively scheduled for 1999, but the details of which aircraft and sensors are to be deployed will be determined as a result of this announcement and future planning by the LBA-Ecology Science Team. Investigators proposing the use of airborne remote sensing instruments should take care to justify their requirement in terms of the unique observational capabilities of the airborne sensor and the importance of its observations to answering one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III. D. Airborne sensors potentially available for LBA-Ecology include AVIRIS, AIRSAR, ASAS, MAS, SLICER, and many more Principal Investigator controlled sensors (see acronym list in Appendix A). Regular procedures should be followed (e.g., flight requests, arranging with the Principal Investigator) to secure the availability of sensors for use in LBA-Ecology. All proposals to use airborne sensors should discuss sensor performance assessment and calibration in conjunction with their validation plan. Section IV-D provides additional guidance on the use of aircraft in LBA-Ecology.

Research that proposes innovative ways to merge data from sensors operating in differing spectral, spatial, and/or temporal domains is especially desired. It is anticipated that the difficult questions being posed within LBA-Ecology will require data from remote sensing instruments with differing capabilities and from a variety of ancillary data sources as well. Data fusion and data assimilation approaches are encouraged.

NASA plans to fund approximately 10-12 new tasks dedicated to airborne and satellite remote sensing. In addition, scientists conducting on-going remote sensing research, e.g., Pathfinder and EOS instrument team member research, are encouraged to for participation in LBA-Ecology.

5. Field Observations and Process Studies. A preliminary design for the in situ field research to be conducted under LBA-Ecology was developed in response to the Manaus Workshop Report and has been integrated into the overall LBA research strategy. It is presented in Appendix A. Investigators responding to this solicitation should propose field observations and process studies consistent with this preliminary field design, but should be aware that the selected Science Team for LBA-Ecology will have the opportunity to modify and the responsibility for finalizing it consistent with LBA-Ecologyís primary research question. It is also possible that decisions yet to be made by other LBA sponsors/modules may affect the final LBA-Ecology study design as well.

Proposals are requested for field observations and process studies to investigate the effects of forest conversion on carbon storage and exchange, nutrient dynamics, and trace gas fluxes along the 2 LBA-Ecology transects. Sites for field measurements and process studies should incorporate the range of categories of human-driven land-use and land-cover change now occurring in Amazônia, climatic variation (i.e., perennially wet sites to those with a 6-month dry season), and the predominant soil types of Amazônia (i.e., oxisol and ultisol/alfisol soil types). It is anticipated that the primary study sites will support a full complement of observations and process studies (including tower-based and chamber-based flux measurements, in situ observations of states, and manipulative experiments). It will be important to measure the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) either continuously or near-continuously over significant portions of several growing seasons using tower-based eddy correlation. Proposals also are requested for studies at secondary and auxiliary sites to pursue selected subsets of observations and process studies needed to address LBA-Ecology goals. These studies must be carefully planned to fill critical gaps and to avoid duplication of past work. Field work at auxiliary sites not located along the 2 transects may be conducted, but it is not expected to be a major focus or a big resource driver for LBA-Ecology. All of these proposals must include a data analysis component focused on addressing one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D of this announcement.

Aircraft measurements of trace gas fluxes will be required. The Atmospheric Chemistry module for LBA is currently planning to provide a comprehensive set of these measurements during an intensive campaign during the wet season in 1999, and a second campaign is under consideration for a year or two thereafter. Additional flux and/or concentration measurements for a few priority gases (i.e., CO2, and possibly CH4, oxides of nitrogen, or CO) using light aircraft are appropriate for LBA-Ecology to ensure more frequent sampling, and proposals for such measurements are solicited (see Section IV-D below). Any such proposals must include a data analysis component focused on addressing one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D of this announcement.

Investigators proposing to provide measurements that will be repeated across the field sites should be prepared to work with their fellow team members to develop standards and observational protocols, to regularly calibrate instruments, and to conduct instrument/measurement intercomparisons. This cooperation will be vital to ensure the quality and intercomparability of the data to be collected.

Specific study sites have not been selected yet. Final site selection decisions will be left to the selected Science Team(s) and associated Project staff. Logistical and cost considerations will weigh heavily in the site selection, and a number of existing research sites and facilities, including several flux towers, are likely to be viable candidates for final site selection. These include the mesoscale catchment area in Rondônia and several existing flux towers along the transects. New tower sites will be established, too. Investigators are welcome to propose specific sites along the two transects or to express preferences as to where or at what type of site (e.g., primary forest, secondary forest, pasture, row-crop agriculture, oxisol, ultisol, eastern transect, western transect, etc.) they wish to work, but are encouraged to be as flexible as possible. Obviously, certain types of studies must be tied to specific sites; such research might include large-scale manipulations being conducted by others that could be exploited for LBA or chronosequences of land use where finding the right site(s) with appropriate historical data is critical. In such cases, proposals may be site specific.

NASA plans to fund approximately 12-15 tasks to acquire new field data. Approximately equal levels of effort are anticipated for tower-based observations, ground-based observations and process studies surrounding the towers, and ground-based observations, process studies, and field experiments at secondary and auxiliary sites.

[6. Case studies. Proposals for case studies and field investigations of changes in land use and land cover along the 2 transects and in other parts of Amazônia are requested. These studies will be carried out in conjunction with analysis of multi-temporal, high-resolution satellite data to gain insight into local-scale dynamics of deforestation, abandonment, and second-growth turnover. They should use data from census documents and from new surveys to define the parameters that control local land use strategies. In addition, analyses will be conducted to define the social, economic, and political factors and conditions that are creating these changes with the objective that predictive models could then be developed.

NEED WORDS/APPROACH FROM JANETOS/LCLUC]

NASA plans to fund approximately 2-3 new case studies.

7. Synthesis and Integration. Modeling is a key tool for scaling and integration of scientific understanding, and will be used for this purpose in LBA-Ecology, but it is not the only approach. Analysis of relationships among GIS data layers, direct calculations based on areal extent of land cover types, and analysis of remote sensing imagery are other such approaches. Investigations that focus on synthesizing and distilling information to answer one or more of the questions enumerated in Section III-D will be essential to the success of LBA. Research proposals to quantify Amazônia-wide budgets and fluxes, to understand regional ecosystem function, to elucidate the important drivers of land use change at regional scales, and to assess the role of Amazônia in global processes are requested. It is anticipated that all modules of LBA will contribute to and collaborate in this area of synthetic and integrative research. Quantification of uncertainties in these integrative studies will be essential.

NASA plans to fund approximately 1-2 new tasks dedicated to synthesis and integration of newly acquired data and results as a result of this announcement. It is expected that additional studies focused on modeling will contribute in this area in the first several years of LBA-Ecology. In addition, it is anticipated that when renewal proposals are solicited in 2000, increased emphasis will be placed on synthesis and integration research, and opportunities will be created for several more tasks in this area.

8. Training and Education. In addition to the research to provide a scientific basis for sustainable development in Amazônia, NASA's South American partners in the planning of LBA value the opportunity that this major interdisciplinary research program offers to enhance their internal research capacities. Amazônia is a very large region with very few environmental and global change scientists. Scientists at Amazônian institutions have many responsibilities, but limited resources. Capacity enhancement and training will be key to the involvement of these scientists and to the recruitment of students and technicians from the region, and are, therefore, explicit objectives for LBA.

It is important to highlight the fact that the people involved -- from Principal Investigators to technicians -- will be the critical factors for successful completion of LBA research tasks. Because of the scope and duration of LBA, it is unrealistic to assume the field program could be implemented without substantial involvement of local institutions and personnel. For many projects, the number and quality of host-country participants will govern whether the project reaches its objectives. A near-term goal of general LBA training and education activities is to increase the pool of potential participants in Amazônia and help these persons develop the necessary basic skills to engage in LBA research. A long-term goal is to leave in place a stronger environmental and global change research community that is better prepared to grapple with the complex issues surrounding development in its region. NASA intends to pursue cooperation with IAI in advancing its LBA training and educational goals.

Due to the breadth of topics addressed -- from nutrient cycling processes to the drivers of land use change -- developing the specific capacity of host-country researchers will be addressed best within a specific task. Thus, each LBA-Ecology proposal should explicitly address how the investigation will build capacity within the host institution(s) and contribute to training and education. Relevant activities might include recruiting/training students and technicians, developing and/or teaching short-courses on topics of relevance to LBA-Ecology, engaging in exchanges of scientists and students with host country institutions, and contributing to general skills enhancement programs to be organized by LBA or possibly IAI. Field investigators may find it worthwhile to learn Portuguese or Spanish.

It is expected that almost all LBA-Ecology proposals will include training and education as one component of a study focused on another LBA science activity.

G. Non-Responsive Topics and Activities

A number of potentially relevant research topics and activities fall outside the scope of LBA-Ecology for one reason or another. Some of these are described below in order to provide guidance to prospective proposers.

Some research tasks relevant to LBA fall into areas to be supported either in whole or in part by other modules of LBA. Proposals in the Physical Climate component of LBA are not being sought through this NRA. Proposals to conduct research on surface water storage and movement and on hydrological processes in general are not being sought through this NRA -- except for some work focused on aquatic biogeochemistry. Proposals for non-ground based atmospheric chemistry studies are not being sought through this NRA -- except for some light aircraft-based measurement of fluxes and/or concentrations of carbon dioxide (and possibly CH4, oxides of nitrogen, or CO) fluxes. All such proposals will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered.

The NASA LBA-Ecology Project Office will be arranging for logistical support and the installation of infrastructure, including a data management system (see Appendix B). Therefore, proposals for these types of support activities will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered. Basic, theoretical remote sensing science, unless it meets the criteria outlined in Section III-F-4 will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered. Such work should be proposed to the remote sensing science element of the NASA TE Program. For reasons of cost and schedule risk, development of new remote sensing instruments will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered. In general, development of any new instruments will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered. However, instrument refinement and adaptation to operate in the Amazônian environment and/or in a more continuous mode are acceptable and even encouraged, provided costs are reasonable.

NASA will not take responsibility for deployment of non-U.S. aircraft to South America; proposals for such deployments will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered. (Investigators seeking to propose non-U.S., non-host country aircraft flights for LBA should be prepared to seek involvement in LBA through direct interactions between the two governments involved, as advised by the South American Coordinating Committee (SACC) for LBA.)

Certain ecological research topics and activities that are or could be made relevant to LBA's overall goals have been excluded from the LBA-Ecology plan and the overall LBA Concise Experimental Plan because their inclusion would have driven the cost and scope of LBA beyond what was deemed affordable by the identified sponsors. Such research would have high merit as an addition to LBA if additional funding sponsors could be found, but it is believed that the core LBA research can proceed without it. Examples of research topics and activities in this category are non-remote sensing studies of biodiversity; paleoecological investigations; and field carbon dioxide enrichment manipulations or other large-scale field manipulations focused on global climate change questions. All such proposals will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered. While studies of the effects of biomass burning on carbon, nutrients, and trace gas fluxes and of biomass burning as a land management practice will be considered responsive, studies dedicated to study of the burning process itself (i.e., in situ observations of fires and fire plumes) will be non-responsive to this NRA and will not be considered.

IV. LBA-ECOLOGY: IMPLEMENTATION

A. LBA-Ecology Project Office

NASA Headquarters will establish a Project Office for LBA-Ecology. This Project Office will be responsible for day-to-day implementation of LBA-Ecology activities. This includes management and coordination of resources provided to meet the scientific objectives and overall coordination of project planning, schedules, and field operations. Staff associated with this office will bear the primary responsibility for developing the infrastructure for LBA-Ecology, providing logistical support for the field studies and intensive airborne campaigns; organizing meetings and workshops of the Science Team; and implementing a data handling and distribution system for use by the Science Team. Appendix B describes the overall management of LBA and the LBA Project Office in greater detail.

The LBA-Ecology Project Manager(s) and Project Scientist(s) will be appointed by the NASA Headquarters Program Offices responsible for LBA-Ecology. The Project Scientist will serve as the leader of the LBA-Ecology Science Team and will be their primary interface with LBA-Ecology Project management; he/she/they will represent the LBA-Ecology module on the overall LBA Science Steering Group.

B. Science Team Membership

Principal Investigators selected to conduct research under this announcement will become members of the LBA-Ecology Science Team. They will be expected to participate fully in all Science Team meetings and activities and to budget accordingly (see Appendix B). The LBA-Ecology Science Team will determine its own structure and method for interactions among team members to achieve the goals of LBA-Ecology and to contribute to the overall goals of LBA.

The LBA-Ecology Science Team will bear the primary responsibility for the scientific content, direction, and priorities within LBA-Ecology. The Science Team will be responsible for finalizing the study design and research strategy; they will work with the Project Scientist and Project Office staff to prepare the final LBA-Ecology Experiment Plan, detailing the specific activities to be conducted during the execution of LBA-Ecology. Additional work to strategically focus and prioritize research activities will be required of the selected Science Team for LBA-Ecology. They must also be prepared to coordinate and integrate their research activities under LBA-Ecology with activities that will be conducted under the other modules of LBA

The LBA-Ecology Science Team will be expected to contribute to the establishment of a data management, data sharing, and data protocol plan across all of LBA that is consistent with participating national and agency policies and which promotes the timely publication and dissemination of scientific results. Current NASA policy does not allow for any period of exclusive use by either an individual scientist or a Science Team. Further, NASA intends to pursue a practice of timely release (as soon as is reasonably possible) for public access to data within the overall LBA partnership. Ultimately, investigators selected in response to this LBA-Ecology NRA will be expected to comply with the data policies and practices established by LBA.

Investigators interested in providing leadership in the early implementation of LBA-Ecology and assisting the Project Scientist(s) are requested to indicate their interest on the cover page of the proposal. Those indicating such an interest may be called upon to help organize the first Science Team meeting and other preparatory activities.

C. Schedule and Priorities for LBA-Ecology

It appears that LBA-Ecology may be the first module of LBA to begin field operations. The current plan is to select field sites, begin installing towers and field research facilities, and start some in situ data collection in 1997. It is envisioned that some sites and measurement capabilities may be implemented earlier than others. Since most other modules of LBA do not plan to begin observations until 1999, it may be possible to ramp-up the ecological field research over a period of 1-2 years.

An important goal for LBA-Ecology is to have a core of field investigations in place and operating routinely by early 1998. In general, once a field study begins operations, it will be expected to continue in place for at least 3 years. Obviously there will be exceptions to this duration, and opportunities for investigations to change sites, but a major goal for this study is to assemble a 3-5 year core data set to answer the research questions posed.

Priority for early non-field research will focus on work that synthesizes data and/or results from past studies, assembles priority satellite and ancillary data sets, and exercises relevant ecosystem models to improve the research design. As of this writing, the highest priority for early implementation and operational capability in the field will be placed on those investigations required to establish one tower cluster, with a full complement of ecological and biogeochemical process studies, on each transect; to establish a core of land cover and land use change investigations [HELP LCLUC FOLKS]; and to support the Atmospheric Chemistry module's airborne campaign. Next in priority for the LBA-Ecology field activities will be establishing a robust complement of observational and process studies at secondary sites, conducting a full suite of human dimensions studies of the factors controlling land use change [HELP LCLUC], and adding towers, with complementary process studies, to complete at least one transect. Next in priority would be to complete both transects and enhance, from the bare minimum, the extensive, auxiliary site measurements.

Proposers to this announcement are advised to offer a six-year commitment to research within LBA-Ecology, but to only propose a detailed plan for 3 1/2 years of work, starting on or after May 1, 1997. Proposals for shorter periods are welcome. NASA intends to review all research selected under this announcement after three years and will request continuation proposals to be subject to full external peer review for a second period of performance. It is anticipated that many of the original investigations will be successfully renewed in 2000, but that there also will be some turnover, opportunities for new investigators to propose, and probably opportunities for new questions to be addressed. In addition, if the need arises and resources permit, NASA may open LBA-Ecology to new investigations through other future research announcements.

The above plan and schedule are, of course, entirely dependent on the implementation of appropriate agreements between the U.S. and Brazil and on the receipt of any other required approvals from host countries.

D. Use of Aircraft

Proposals to use aircraft for flux observations and/or for acquisition of unique remote sensing data sets are anticipated in response to this announcement for LBA-Ecology research. If the use of light aircraft is required for an investigation, strong consideration should be given to adding instrumentation to host country aircraft rather than transporting fully equipped light aircraft from other locales. Proposals for flux or remote sensing measurements on host-country aircraft may request acquisitions as early as 1998, provided sensor integration, local arrangements, and official approvals can be achieved by that time. Proposals for research involving deployment of U.S. aircraft should not plan to conduct any observational work before 1999 and must not interfere with the aircraft schedules for the Atmospheric Chemistry module's campaign (NASA DC-8 and P-3B, INPE Bandeirante, and possibly the NSF WB57F during February-April, 1999).

In all cases, investigators proposing aircraft work are expected to comply with all host-country laws and recommended procedures.

V. GUIDANCE FOR PROPOSERS

A. Eligibility

Participation in this program is open to all categories of domestic and foreign organizations, including educational institutions, industry, non-profit institutions, NASA research centers, and other government agencies. Civil servants in U.S. government research laboratories are eligible to apply, but are strongly discouraged from requesting civil service salary reimbursement. Participation by non-U.S. Principal Investigators is encouraged within the specific guidelines described in Appendix D, which include a no-exchange-of-funds provision.

B. Opportunities for Currently Funded Research Tasks

1. On-going Investigations in Amazônia and EOS Interdisciplinary Investigations. Scientists who are already conducting research in Amazônia that is consistent with the goals and/or scope of LBA-Ecology are encouraged to propose in response to this announcement at no cost or at low cost (e.g., for travel funds to attend Science Team meetings or to facilitate collaborations) in order to become members of the Science Team and participate in its activities. Such proposals may consist of a cover letter indicating the scientist's interest in LBA and describing the particular research tasks to be pursued, a copy of the proposal that has already been funded, and some indication that the proposed work is already funded and participation in LBA is acceptable to the funding sponsor. Host country collaborators and institutions should be named in the cover letter. A full, new proposal need not be written. Such proposals will be evaluated along with all other proposals submitted in response to this announcement, but in a special category.

EOS Interdisciplinary investigators conducting research in Amazônia or conducting modeling studies that could be enhanced through collaboration with LBA-Ecology are invited to propose in this same way for participation in LBA.

2. Satellite Instrument Team Members. Due to its timing and the nature of the data to be collected, LBA will provide a unique opportunity to combine a major field campaign with evaluation of the performance of and data products from several new satellite sensors. The airborne remote sensing campaign(s) being planned for 1999 or later, as well as some of the in situ and light aircraft-based observations that may occur throughout the duration of LBA, represent excellent opportunities for evaluation of data from EOS AM -1, Landsat 7, TRMM, or other new satellites. Science team members for these instruments or others who are responsible for their evaluation are invited to consider using the LBA region as a test site and cooperating with LBA-Ecology as a means of evaluating algorithms and data products. This invitation is not to be construed as an opportunity to re-define the goals or experimental design of LBA, but rather as an opportunity to influence the details of the planning so as to maximize LBA's usefulness for new satellite data evaluation. LBA scientists, of course, will be most interested in making use of these new data sets to help answer the questions they have tackled.

The TRMM Project is already planning to contribute a TRMM field validation module to LBA, and TRMM scientists involved in the planning for this activity are likely to receive NASA sponsorship for participation in LBA through TRMM, and, therefore, need not propose in response to this opportunity. There will be other opportunities for TRMM scientists to collaborate with LBA-Ecology, mainly in the areas of modeling and synthesis and integration of results.

Scientists interested in participating in LBA-Ecology for the purpose of satellite data evaluation are encouraged to propose in response to this announcement at no cost in order to become members of the LBA-Ecology Science Team. Such proposals should take the same form as specified in Section V-B-1 above. A full, new proposal need not be written.

C. Collaborations

1. General. Proposers are encouraged to develop appropriate collaborations of all kinds. Combinations of U.S. and international scientists are encouraged, as are collaborations among scientists from government, industry, and academia.

Joint, collaborative proposals are welcome, as are parallel proposals for complementary activities. Proposers are cautioned to not create so broad or diffuse a collaboration that reviewers cannot evaluate the proposal at a reasonable level of technical detail or understand its management plan. Proposers are encouraged to note linkages among proposals being submitted in parallel, but are cautioned to not create critical dependencies on other proposals such that each cannot be evaluated as a separable unit of research. There will be many opportunities to pursue additional collaborations once the LBA-Ecology Science Team is selected.

2. Host Country Collaborations. Brazilian law requires that scientists from outside of Brazil participating in expeditions within Brazil have a Brazilian counterpart. A Brazilian institution with recognized expertise in the research area must take responsibility for the participation of the foreign investigators. For this reason, as well the obvious importance of involving scientists with needed expertise and familiarity with the local environment, proposers are strongly encouraged to involve Brazilian collaborators (e.g., scientists, students, and technicians) in their responses to this announcement. Proposers should provide evidence that they have taken appropriate measures to facilitate the involvement of their host country collaborators.

Proposals without host country collaborations will be considered responsive to this announcement, but if accepted, will be accepted for a definition phase pending identification of a host country counterpart or some other arrangement acceptable to the host country. One of the planned responsibilities of the South American Coordinating Committee (SACC) for LBA is to help match foreign participants with appropriate host country collaborators. Proposers are referred to the 1993 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) publication on International Cooperation: Scientific Expeditions (CNPq, 1993) for further guidance on Brazilian laws concerning international scientific expeditions (an unofficial translation is available on the NASA /ORNL home page DO WE DO THIS??). It is possible that the official agreements that NASA will pursue with Brazil may affect the details of how such collaborations are developed and recognized, but the specifics of such arrangements cannot be anticipated at this time. Discussions concerning the involvement of other Amazônian countries are at a very early stage. Investigators who propose to work in the Amazon outside of Brazil will be expected to comply with all host country requirements.

Compliance with all applicable host country laws, regulations, policies, and procedures will be required of all LBA participants.

D. Proposal Submission and Review

Proposals may be submitted at any time during the period ending December 12, 1996. All proposals will be evaluated through a peer review and technical review process during the winter of 1996-1997, and results will be announced as early as possible in spring, 1997.

All prospective proposers are strongly encouraged to submit a letter of intent to propose to NASA in response to this announcement by 4:30 p.m., EST, on October 31, 1996. This letter should contain a brief description of the research to be proposed and name any planned Co-Investigators and collaborators. Proposers are encouraged to submit their letters of intent electronically following the instructions provided in Appendix G; if this is not possible, letters of intent may be provided through the mail or by facsimile.

Proposals may be up to fifteen pages of text, single-spaced, 12-pt. type, including abstract and references. A reasonable number of figures and tables may be appended in excess of this page limit. Also not included in this total are the cover page, management plan, data plan, cost plan, and brief curriculum vitae (1-2 pages each) for proposing investigators. Detailed information on proposal format and content is provided in Appendix B.

Proposals will be subjected to external peer review utilizing both mail and panel evaluations. No-cost proposals that have already been subject to external peer review may only be presented to a panel for review. A NASA management review for technical and logistical feasibility and cost analysis (if funds are requested) also will be conducted. The evaluation criteria to be used are listed in Appendix B.

Proposals should request no more than 3 1/2 years of funding to start no sooner than May 1, 1997. Annual progress reports will be required for renewal during 1998-2000. Publication of results in the peer-reviewed literature is expected. Studies funded by other organizations may have slightly different durations. It is anticipated that NASA funding for LBA-Ecology will continue beyond 2000, but new proposals will be required.

A complete proposal schedule is given below:

Letter of Intent to Propose Due: October 31, 1996

Proposals Due at NASA Headquarters: December 12, 1996

Announcement of Final Selections: April, 1997

Additional information is provided in Appendices A-G of this announcement.

Appendix A contains the preliminary study design for the science to be conducted under LBA-Ecology and references, acronyms, and definitions for this entire announcement.

Appendix B contains information on the management and organizational structure for LBA and amendatory guidance to Appendix C (Instructions for Responding to NRA) which is applicable only to this NRA. It is very important that proposers read Appendix B carefully in order ensure that guidelines on proposal submission are followed and evaluation criteria are understood.

Appendix C contains general instructions for responding to NASA Research Announcements.

Appendix D contains instructions for foreign participation in this opportunity.

Appendix E contains examples of the required institutional declarations and the proposal cover page.

Appendix F provides the URL addresses for accessing world wide web home pages with information relevant to this NRA. If electronic access is not available to the prospective proposers, a hard copy of relevant reference(s) can be requested through the primary point of contact identified below.

Appendix G provides instructions on how to submit letters of intent electronically.

Prospective investigators are urged to read the information in all of the Appendices carefully and to follow the specific guidelines therein carefully.

Identifier: NRA-96-MTPE-XX

Submit Full Proposals and Non- LBA-Ecology

Electronic Letters of Intent to: Code Y

400 Virginia Avenue, SW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20024

USA

FAX: (202) 554-3024 (for letters of intent only!)

For overnight mail delivery purposes only the recipient telephone number is (202) 544-2775.

Submit One Additional Copy: NASA Headquarters

of Foreign Proposals to: Office of External Relations

Mission to Planet Earth Division

Mail Code IY

300 E Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546

Number of Copies Required: 12

Selecting Official: Director, Science Division

Office of Mission to Planet Earth

Obtain Additional Information from: Dr. Diane E. Wickland

(primary point of contact) Manager, Terrestrial Ecology Program

Code YS

NASA Headquarters

300 E Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546

Telephone: (202) 358-0245

FAX: (202) 358-2771

Diane.Wickland@hq.nasa.gov

or, for Land Cover and Land Use Dr. Anthony C. Janetos

Change Studies Manager Land Cover and Land Use Change Program

Code YS

NASA Headquarters

300 E Street, SW

Washington, DC 20546

Telephone: (202) 358-0276

FAX: (202) 358-2771

Anthony.Janetos@hq.nasa.gov

Your interest and cooperation in participating in this opportunity are appreciated.

William F. Townsend

Acting Associate Administrator for

Mission to Planet Earth

Enclosures:

Appendix A - Preliminary Field Study Design for LBA and References, Acronyms, and Definitions

Appendix B - Project Management and Amendatory Guidance to the General Guidelines Contained in Appendix C and Applicable Only to this NRA

Appendix C - Instructions for Responding to NASA Research Announcements

Appendix D - Guidelines for International Proposals

Appendix E - Required Declarations and Proposal Cover Page

Appendix F - Electronic Addresses

Appendix G - Instructions for Electronic Letters of Intent

I. PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR FIELD RESEARCH

Analysis of the Manaus Workshop Report (Manaus Workshop Report, 1995) and other planning reports for LBA has resulted in the ad hoc Steering Committee for the LBA-Ecology module sketching out a preliminary study design, primarily for new field observations and process studies. This design should not be considered final; it has been offered to facilitate continued planning across all components of LBA until such time as the officially selected Science Team for LBA-Ecology has been announced. This Science Team will have the task of fully developing and finalizing the design and producing a detailed experiment plan in coordination with the other modules of LBA. The preliminary design presented below places heavy emphasis on those aspects of the field design that require major investments of resources for infrastructure and drive the placement of intensive study sites since these aspects have been the most pressing to coordinate with the other modules of LBA.

A. Two Transects

Much of the research associated with LBA's ecological research program will be carried out along two transects in the Amazon where forest conversion or selective logging have been major factors in shaping the landscape. Both transects span land use intensity and climatic gradients.

One transect (hereafter referred to as the eastern transect) will run from near Brasilia in the south, north to the state of Pará , and then west to the central part of the state of Amazonas (see Figure 1). Rainfall at the western end of this transect is more than 2.5m/yr and is relatively constant throughout the year, while it is about 1.5 m/yr on the southeastern end of the transect and seasonal in nature. The second transect (hereafter referred to as the western transect) will run from Acre or the northern part of the state of Rondônia towards the southeast to the central part of Mato Grosso. Rainfall at the northwestern end of this transect is about 2.2 m/yr, while it is about 1.2 m/yr at the southeastern end. All sites along this western transect experience some dry months.

While examples of fertile and infertile soils can be found along both transects, infertile soils (mostly Oxisols) are probably more common along the eastern transect and relatively fertile soils (including Ultisols and Alfisols) play a more important role in areas undergoing land use change along the western transect. Insofar as it is possible, the primary research sites on the eastern transect will be located on the more infertile soils characteristic of the transect and the primary sites on the western transect will be located on more fertile soils.

Similarly, examples of very recent and somewhat older (20-30 years) land-use change can be found along both transects, but the eastern transect will probably provide more opportunities to study older land use changes.

B. Study Sites

1. Primary Study Sites: Towers and Catchments

Along the transects there will be a few intensive, primary research sites and many more extensively distributed secondary and auxiliary research sites. The primary sites will anchor the transects. These sites will be based on clusters of flux towers and, at least in one or two instances, catchments instrumented by other LBA modules for measurement of fluvial fluxes. The tower clusters were conceived to add a local-scale gradient of land use; they will include one tower in each of the major land use types of the area, keeping all other environmental variation at a minimum. A typical cluster might include towers in primary forest, pasture or crop land, and secondary forest, all on similar soils and within 50-100 km of each other.

All LBA-Ecology towers will be instrumented to measure fluxes of water vapor, energy, and CO2 -- and possibly CH4 and oxides of nitrogen -- and will be operated on a continuous or near-continuous basis. Standard micrometeorological observations also will be made at these towers. It will be important that tower locations be carefully selected to avoid areas of urban atmospheric influence and anomalous soil, vegetation, and hydrological properties. Measurements of carbon and nutrient pools and fluxes and process studies will be conducted around the towers. Each tower site will be placed in the context of local land use practices, predominant environmental conditions, and local and mesoscale drainage basins.

2-6 of the LBA-Ecology towers (number and distribution among land uses and along the transects to be determined joint with the Atmospheric Chemistry module) will be enhanced to measure many other constituents, including ozone, carbon monoxide, NOx, NOy, non-methane hydrocarbons, reactive sulfur gases, and aerosol particles. These will be designated the ìfull chemistryî towers. These surface-based observations in support of the Atmospheric Chemistry module will focus on determining the concentrations of key reactive and greenhouse gases and aerosols at surface sites in Amazonia and defining the primary influences on those concentrations. The suite of measurements also should include a range of indicator species for biomass burning (e.g. CO, acetylene) and industrial activity (CFCs, other halocarbons), along with key reactive species (NOx, O3), biogenic reactive hydrocarbons (isoprene), and greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O).

The overall LBA goal is to deploy 3 or 4 towers (or tower clusters) to span each of the two major transects. It is expected that towers will be put in place along the two transects by all LBA modules. The only way a full complement of towers can be deployed to adequately define the two transects will be though cooperation, coordination, and effective cost-sharing across all modules of LBA. Thus, LBA-Ecology is currently planning to provide only a subset of the total number of flux towers. The highest priority will be to ensure that there is at least one tower cluster covering the major land use types on each transect.

Pará probably will be the general location of the first tower cluster along the eastern transect. This cluster will be made up of four towers, one in each of four cover types: a primary forest, a pasture, a second-growth forest derived from pasture, and a selective-logging site. Depending on the availability of funding and agreement by the Principal Investigator(s), extant tower sites along Transect 1 (such as those near Manaus and Brasilia) where CO2, water, and energy fluxes are currently being measured may be augmented with instruments to measure fluxes of other gases. Also dependent on the availability of funds is a desire to pair the extant towers near Brasilia with a new tower in nearby row crop agriculture and to install a tower in primary, aseasonal forest at the far western end of the transect.

Rondônia will be the general location for the first tower cluster along the western transect. This cluster will be made up of three towers, one in each of three cover types; a primary forest, a pasture, and a second-growth forest derived from pasture. This cluster will be embedded within the Rondônia mesoscale catchment study area already identified as a strong candidate intensive study area by other modules of LBA. This area is the this Greater Jamarí region of Rondônia comprised of the Jamarí, Jiparaná, and Candeias river basins. It is possible that existing towers in this region might meet the needs, or could be augmented to meet the needs, of LBA-Ecology. Particular attention should be paid to water chemistry dynamics and trace gas fluxes along moisture gradients in this mesoscale catchment study area in order to complement the detailed hydrological studies in the region planned as part of the hydrological module(s) of LBA. Depending on the availability of funding and/or cost-sharing with other LBA partners, additional towers or tower clusters may be deployed in northwest Rondônia or Acre and central Mato Grosso.

2. Secondary Study Sites

Additional field studies will be made at many other sites along the two transects to extend the observational database beyond the tower sites and to conduct detailed process studies and/or experimental manipulations. These extensive, secondary sites are needed to capture the full range of variation along the transects and to conduct research that could not be done at tower sites. These secondary sites will be used to characterize other forms of land use and management practice than those at the towers; study chronosequences of land use; assess processes on additional soil types, including those not being emphasized for tower site locations on the transect; and characterize processes along gradients from terre firme uplands through wetlands and riparian zones into streams and rivers. Measurements of carbon and nutrient pools and fluxes will be made at such sites. These measurements will include fluvial fluxes and gas evolution along moisture gradients.

Amazonia contains extensive permanent and seasonal wetlands which must be considered in the study design. Wetlands observations and process studies will be conducted at both primary and secondary study sites, where appropriate. The effects of selective logging in flooded forests is of interest, but for logistical reasons, it may not be possible to site a tower in flooded forest. If this is the case, attention must be directed toward resolving how best to characterize the role of these ecosystems and changes within them. It is possible that because of extensive past research, few new observations will be necessary in undisturbed wetlands.

Case studies and field investigations will be carried out to determine the local-scale dynamics of deforestation, abandonment, and second-growth turnover. These analyses will incorporate socio-economic (e.g., demographic and econometric) data to define the parameters that control local land use strategies and illustrate how changes in land use affect changes in land cover. It is anticipated that some of these studies may be conducted at sites that do not lie on one of the two transects in order to take best advantage of existing, scarce data sets on land use and its socioeconomic dimensions and to target areas of the most rapid land use change. A set of eight candidate sites (see Figure YY) was proposed during the planning for LBA. [DO WE USE THESE?] LAND USE RE-WRITE EXPANSION NEEDED HERE?

3. Auxiliary Study Sites

One-time only field observations and survey data sets distributed extensively throughout the Amazon region (i.e., not necessarily along the two major transects) will be required to address some of the Amazonia-wide, regional research questions. Data from such auxiliary sites will be used to capture the full range of variation for key data types needed to drive models, characterize remotely sensed data sets, and conduct scaling studies. Field work at auxiliary sites is not expected to be a major focus or a big resource driver for LBA-Ecology. Data to be obtained will be carefully selected to meet the most critical information needs for the regional studies. Other modules of LBA (e.g., Physical Climate) are expected to contribute many of the regionally extensive observations.

II. REFERENCES FOR ENTIRE NRA

BAHC Core Project Office. 1993. Biospheric Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (BAHC): The Operational Plan. IGBP Report No. 27. 103 p.

CNPq. 1993. Cooperação Internacional: Expedição Científia. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). 34 p.

Fernandes, E.C.M., Y. Biot, C. Castilla, A. do C. Canto, J.C. Matos, S. Carcia, R. Perin, and E. Wandelli. [1996?] The impact of selective logging and forest conversion for subsistence agriculture and pastures on terrestrial nutrient dynamics in the Amazon. Ciencia e Cultura. (In press)

Gash, J. H. C., C. A. Nobre, J. M. Roberts, and R. L. Victoria. (Editors) 1996. Amazonian Deforestation and Climate. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, United Kingdom. 611 p.

Grove, N. 1995a. Science Development. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).

Grove, N. 1995b. Tropical Ecosystems and Biogeochemical Cycles. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI).

Hall, F. G., 1996. Remote Sensing Workshop Report. NASA. Washington, DC. p.

Houghton, R.A. [1996?] Terrestrial Carbon Storage: Global Lessons for Amazônian

Research. Ciencia e Cultura. (In press)

Keller, M., J. M. Melillo, and W. Zamboni de Mello. [1996?] Trace Gas

Emissions from Ecosystems of the Amazon Basin. Ciencia e Cultura. (In press)

Kirchhoff, V. W. J. H. 1994. TAHBIS - A Tropical Atmosphere-Hydrosphere-Biosphere Integrated Study in the Amazon. Revista Brasiliera de Geofísica 12(1): 3-7.

Koch, G. W., R. J. Scholes, W. L. Steffan, P. M. Vitousek, and B. H. Walker. 1995. The IGBP Terrestrial Transects: Science Plan. IGBP Report No. 36. pp. 61.

Lunter, S. M. 1996. Global Change Newsletter. IGBP Secretariat, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. No. 26 (p. )

Manaus Workshop Report. 1995. The Ecological Component of an Integrated Amazon Study (also known as LBA): The Effects of Forest Conversion. NASA. Washington, DC. [ p.]

NASA. 1996a. Mission to Planet Earth Strategic Enterprise Plan 1996-2002. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC. 40 p.

NASA. 1996b. Science Research Plan. Office of Mission to Planet Earth, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC. [ p.]

Nepstad, D. C., C. A. Klink, C. Uhl, I. C. Vieira, P. Lefebvre, M. Pedlowski, E. Matricardi, G. Negreiros, I. F. Brown, E. Amaral, A. Homma and R. Walker. [1996?] Land-use in Amazonia and the Cerrado. Ciencia e Cultura. (In press)

Pszenny, A. A. P. and R. G. Prinn. 1994. International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Project: The Operational Plan. IGBP Report No. 32. 134 p.

Richey, J. E., S. R. Wilhelm, M. E. McClain, R. L. Victoria, J. M. Melack, and C. Araujo-Lima. [1996?] Organic Matter and Nutrient Dynamics in River Corridors of the Amazon Basin and Their Response to Anthropogenic Change. Ciencia e Cultura. (In press)

Sellers, P. J., C. A. Nobre, D. J. Fitzjarrald, P. D. Try, and D. T. Lucid. 1992. A Preliminary Science Plan for a Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Field Experiment in the Amazon Basin. ISLSCP and IGPO, Washington, DC. [ p.]

Skole, D. and C. Tucker. 1993. Tropical Deforestation and Habitat Fragmentation in the Amazon: Satellite Data from 1978 to 1988. Science 260:1905-1910.

Steffan, W. L., B. H. Walker, J. S. Ingram, and G. W. Koch. 1992. Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems: The Operational Plan. IGBP Report No. 21. 95 p.

The LBA Science Planning Group. 1996. The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA): Concise Experimental Plan. SC-DLO, Wageningen, Netherlands. 44 p.

Turner, B. L. II, D. Skole, S. Sanderson, G. Fischer, L. Fresco, and R. Leemans. 1995

Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Science/Research Plan. IGBP Report No. 35 and HDP Report No. 7. 132 p.

Wickland, D. 1994. Terrestrial Ecology Interests in a Brazilian Study. Revista Brasiliera de Geofísica 12(1): 29-31.

Wofsy, S., R. Harriss, D. Skole, and V. W. J. H. Kirchhoff. 1994. Amazon Biogeochemistry and Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (AMBIACE): The Influence of Tropical Forests (intact, deforested and regrowing) on atmospheric greenhouse gases and on the oxidizing potential of atmosphere: A proposed NASA / INPE Cooperative Study. Revista Brasiliera de Geofísica 12(1): 9-28.

III. ACRONYM LIST FOR ENTIRE NRA

ABLE - Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment

ADEOS - (Japan, with U.S. & French collaboration)

AGE - Amazon Ground Emissions

AIRSAR - Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (aircraft instrument)

AM-1 - First morning-crossing EOS platform (U.S.)

AMBIACE - Amazon Biogeochemistry and Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment

ASAS - Advanced Solid-state Array Spectroradiometer (aircraft instrument)

ASTER - (Japanese instrument on EOS AM-1)

ATSP - Automatic Tracking Sun Photometer (aircraft instrument)

AVHRR - Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (on NOAA meteorological satellite)

AVIRIS - Airborne Visible-Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (aircraft instrument)

BAHC - B

BATERISTA -

BOREAS - Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study

CBERS - China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite (Brazil & China)

CD-ROM -

CENA - Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (Universidade de São Paulo)

CERES - Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (on EOS)

CPTEC - Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos

DAAC - Distributed Active Archive Center (part of EOSDIS)

DMSP - Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (U.S.)

EST - Eastern Standard Time

ENSO - El Niño - Southern Oscillation

ENVISAT - (Europe)

EOS - Earth Observing System (U.S.)

EOSDIS - Earth Observing System Data and Information System

ERS-1/2 - European Remote Sensing Satellite (Europe)

GAIM -

GCM - General Circulation Model

GCTE -

GIS - Geographic Information System

GOES - Geostationary Operational Environment Satellite (U.S.)

GTE - Global Tropospheric Experiment

IAI - Inter-Americas Institute for Global Change

IGAC -

IGBP - International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme

IHDP - International Human Dimensions Programme

IHP - International Hydrological Programme

INPA - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia

INPE - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais

IRS - Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (India)

JERS-1 - Japanese Earth Remote Sensing Satellite (Japan)

LAMBADA -

LBA - Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazônia

LCLUC - NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change Program

LUCC -

MAS - MODIS Airborne Simulator (aircraft instrument)

MISR - Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (on EOS AM-1)

MODIS - Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (on EOS AM-1)

MSS - Landsat Multispectral Scanner System (U.S.)

MTPE - Mission to Planet Earth

NASA - U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NEE - Net Ecosystem Exchange

NOAA - U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NRA - NASA Research Announcement

NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation

OIC - Organizing and Implementation Committee (for LBA)

ORNL - Oak Ridge National Laboratory (U.S. Department of Energy)

POLDER - Polarization and Directional Reflectivity measurements (French instrument)

PRC - Program Review Committee (for LBA)

Radarsat - Radar Satellite (Canada)

SACC - South American Coordinating Committee (for LBA)

SLICER - (aircraft instrument)

SMMR - Scanning Multispectral Microwave Radiometer (U.S.)

SPOT - Systéme Probatoire d'Observation de la Terre (France)

SRTM - Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (U.S.)

SSC - Science Steering Committee (for LBA)

SSM/I - Special Sensor Microwave/ Imager (U.S.)

SSR - Brazilian Remote Sensing satellite (in planning - similar to TM but with 6 times daily repeat coverage)

TAHBIS - Tropical Atmosphere-Hydrosphere-Biosphere Integrated Study

TM - Landsat Thematic Mapper (U.S.)

TRACE-A - Transport and Chemistry near the Equator - Atlantic

TRACE-B - Transport and Chemistry near the Equator - B

TRMM - Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (U.S.-Japan)

URL -

USP - Universidade de São Paulo

WCRP - World Climate Research Programme

WFI - Wide Field Imager (new instrument to be launched on China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite

IV. DEFINITION OF TERMINOLOGY UNIQUE TO THIS NRA

LBA-Ecology: A program of research to be funded by NASA that address the effects of tropical forest conversion, re-growth, and selective logging on carbon storage, nutrient dynamics, and trace gas fluxes in Amazonia. It includes the general areas of terrestrial carbon storage and exchange; nutrient dynamics; trace gas fluxes; and land cover and land use change, including the human dimensions of land use change. Collectively, these general research areas constitute LBA-Ecology. LBA-Ecology is an LBA module.

Component: One of these 6 overall LBA research areas: Physical Climate, Carbon Storage and Exchange, Biogeochemistry, Atmospheric Chemistry, Land Surface Hydrology and Water Chemistry, and Land Use and Land Cover.

Module: An independently funded and managed research program contributing to LBA. LBA will be implemented as a group of such complementary research "modules," each with its own set of goals and objectives and funding sponsor(s). A module may address one or more of the LBA "components" and may focus on all or only part of the LBA research questions. LBA-Ecology is an LBA research module.

Theme: One of these 5 LBA Ecology science areas: land-cover and land-use change, carbon storage and exchange, plant and soil nutrient cycling, trace gas fluxes, and dynamics of surface water chemistry.

I. PURPOSE

These guidelines contain general and specific information regarding the submission of proposals in response to this NRA. Program organization and project structure are described. Formats for submission of proposals for research related to this program are provided. The evaluation criteria are specified. Appendix C contains general instructions for responding to NASA Research Announcements. Where conflicts exist between this Appendix and Appendix C, this appendix shall be the controlling document.

II. LBA PROJECT ORGANIZATION

The Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazônia (LBA) is an international research initiative lead by Brazil. It is anticipated that a number of countries (e.g., Brazil, United States, other Amazônian countries, several European countries) will participate, bringing funding and other resources from a variety of national and international sources. In order to practically cope with such breadth of activities and diversity of support, LBA will be implemented as a group of complementary research modules each funded and managed by a different sponsor(s). Because of this, LBA will need an over-arching, umbrella structure to provide scientific integration and coordination at the highest levels. This umbrella organizational structure for LBA will be composed of four main committees.

A. South American Coordinating Committee. The committee with the lead responsibility for LBA is the South American Coordinating Committee (SACC). It will oversee the conduct of the overall LBA program and approve plans and implementation

actions. It will ensure that any proposed activities under LBA are appropriate to the stated goals, and that they meet the requirements, both programmatic and legal, of working in the LBA campaigns. The SACC provides the highest level of interface with the cooperating governments in South America, and it will solicit the required approvals from these governments. It will consist of individuals from the host countries in South America, and it has the responsibility of appointing all other committees of LBA. This committee is planned to evolve out of a core Brazilian Coordinating Committee that will be officially established in the summer of 1996.

B. Organizing and Implementation Committee. The committee with the responsibility for implementing LBA is the Organizing and Implementation Committee (OIC). It will balance the operational needs, requirements, and scientific priorities with the available funding. The OIC will coordinate the major infrastructural needs and field operations of LBA, allocating resources to meet the overall priorities. It will direct a Field Operations Subcommittee charged with the day-to-day operations of LBA. In these tasks it will seek advice from, and provide advice to the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) and SACC. The members of the OIC are individually responsible to the funding bodies of LBA for the expenditure of funds and the implementation of priorities. As such its members will be nominated by the various agencies and countries funding LBA, and they will be appointed by the SACC. (By way of example, NASA intends to nominate the Managers of the Terrestrial Ecology Program and the Land Cover and Land Use Change Program to represent the LBA-Ecology module on the OIC.)

C. Science Steering Committee. The committee with the overall responsibility for scientific direction and strategies is the Science Steering Committee (SSC). It will develop scientific priorities and experiment plans for implementation in LBA, thereby guaranteeing scientific integration of the various components, and providing advice to the SACC. It also has a role in coordinating the scientific activities and direction of the components. Membership of the SSC will come from selected participants of LBA. Appointments will be made by the SACC, following nominations by responsible officials within each of the implementing sponsors. The chair of the SSC will be a one-year rotating position among the three major disciplines supporting the experiment (ecology, hydrometeorology, atmospheric chemistry). (By way of example, NASA intends to nominate the LBA-Ecology Project Scientist to the SSC and it is likely that one or more or the selected Science Team Members also may be nominated.)

The SSC will begin on an interim basis based on nominations from the current program managers and agencies supporting LBA. Its composition will be updated as selections of investigators are made through appropriate mechanisms in each country or region.

D. Program Review Committee. The Program Review Committee (PRC) will evaluate the overall integration of LBA and its performance in terms of meeting its stated objectives. It is anticipated that the PRC will meet twice. The first time, mid-way through the implementation of LBA, will be for the purpose of providing advice on possible mid-course corrections, and the second time, at the end of LBA, will be for the purpose of final program evaluation against the stated goals. Members will be nominated by the major international scientific research programs, e.g. the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP), the International Hydrology Programme (IHP), and the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), and appointed by the SACC.

III. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE FOR LBA-ECOLOGY

This section provides information on the management structure and functions for the LBA-Ecology Project Office, which may be of relevance to the development and costing of research proposals.

A. Program Management. LBA-Ecology will be a research project within the NASA Terrestrial Ecology (TE) Program and the NASA Land Cover and Land Use Change (LCLUC) Program. Each programís resources w