ARS AfricaE

Lead Institute AK Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture

Setting up an eddy-covariance tower for the measurement of carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes at a pasture site near Middelburg, Eastern Cape, Karoo, South Africa

ARS AfricaE - Adaptive Resilience in Southern African Ecosystems

The ARS AfricaE project investigates the coupled carbon and water cycles of natural and disturbed savanna ecosystems by setting up a network of research clusters.

Background and Objective

Main objectives of the project are

setting up a network of research clusters to investigate the effects of disturbance and land use change on water and carbon cycles as well as their interaction along an aridity gradient, l
inking ecosystem functioning and structure using field measurements and models,
characterizing ecosystem disturbances by functional parameters such as gross primary productivity, water use and other efficiency parameters,
setting up an individual-based model system to predict ecosystem dynamics under different disturbances and land uses,
linking this model with long-term data from remote sensing products, and
development of sustainable strategies for ecosystem management.

Approach

ARS AfricaE is a joint research project with 3 German and 6 South African partner institutions. The Thünen Institute of Climate-Smart Agriculture takes the overall coordination of the project. Results of the project will form better management strategies of savanna ecosystems.