UA Wins Grant to Study Rain Forest

The University of Arizona has landed a $2.5 million federal grant to study the Brazilian rain forest under a National Science Foundation program to help scientists overcome cultural obstacles to solving international environmental problems.

The grant will include funding for fieldwork in the Brazilian rain forest and at Biosphere 2. The UA recently began using the once- controversial 3-acre glass enclosed environmental and ecological lab north of Tucson.

The five-year grant is intended to answer questions about the future of the world’s single largest rain forest under climate change.

Because of the huge amount of carbon stored in the rain forest’s biomass, scientists are concerned about the potential for massive global climate that might result from the destruction of large amounts of the forest.

UA partners in the NSF-funded project include Harvard University, the University of S”o Paulo, the Federal University of Para, the National Institute for Amazonian Research, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Agency and the Museu Paraense Emilio Goeldi.

Originally published by ARIZONA DAILY STAR.

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