This DDEP proposal is to support Ms. Christine M. Lucas working under PI Dr. Emilio Bruna to conduct research in Brazil. Ms. Lucas will collaborate with two mentors in Brazil and share their facility, namely Dr. Jochen Shöngart and Dr. Maria Teresa F. Piedade of the Brazilian Amazon Research Institute (INPA). Ms. Lucas will investigate the dynamics of flood plain forest regeneration and succession, in particular how the interaction of flood stress and disturbances affect the seedling community, a vulnerable stage in tree life history. The Brazilian experts will guide Ms. Lucas to identify inventoried tree species and to calculate aboveground carbon sequestration. By conducting collaborative research in Brazil, Ms. Lucas expects to fill a broad gap in understanding how tropical forested wetlands configure into Amazonian carbon budgets.
