Expressions of Intent for International Polar Year 2007-2008 Activities

Expression of Interest Details

PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Retrospective and Prospective Vegetation Change in the Polar Regions: Back to the Future  (BTF)

Outline
Background Polar environments are changing rapidly. Resulting impacts on terrestrial/freshwater ecosystems affect a) higher trophic levels and resources for Arctic residents, b) biodiversity in both polar regions and beyond due to the migration of many species, and c) land-atmosphere processes through changes in surface reflectivity and exchange of trace gases. Polar lands are vast and diverse and the knowledge of geographical variation in recent ecosystem change is limited. Attribution of change is difficult because the primary drivers vary from site to site and between the poles: at some sites multiple drivers of change (e.g. climate, UV-B, contaminants, habitat fragmentation) operate concurrently. Between 1964 and 1974, a network of IBP* Tundra Biome sites was established in both polar areas. Intensive investigations of primary production, production processes, decomposition, plant community structure and soil fauna were carried out together with studies of freshwater ecosystems. These sites and many of the original researchers represent a unique asset for detecting multidecadal environmental change. IPY provides timely opportunities for collating data on past changes, passing knowledge to new generations of researchers and documenting environmental characteristics of sites to facilitate detection and attribution of future changes. Goals 1. To assess multidecadal past changes in the structure and function of Polar terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in relation to diverse divers of change 2. To assess the current status of Polar ecosystems and their biodiversity 3. To permanently record precise locations of old sites in order to perpetuate platforms for a) the assessment of future changes in Polar ecosystems and b) sampling for Polar research and assessment programmes. Approach IBP sites in both polar regions will be re-visited, documented, and pinpointed with GPS. IBP Tundra Biome alpine and temperate upland sites will be included: comparison among such diverse, cold sites gave increased information on the environmental controls of ecosystem processes. The cold, temperate sites are now even more relevant as they represent analogues of future, warmer, polar sites. BTF will also include appropriate non-IBP polar and sub-polar sites. Investigations of primary production, production processes, decomposition, plant community structure and soil fauna will be repeated using original techniques. Additional measurements will be made following meetings of the BTF group and representatives of linked projects. BTF will include, or link to, remote sensing projects that will provide a larger geographical context (GOA*) and provide baseline information on vegetation structure from radar and laser remote sensing. The sites will provide validation for remote sensing and modelling communities. The network will also include other aspects of retrospective analysis of ecosystems and populations and provide sampling possibilities for various environmental assessments. The project will be implemented by younger researchers interacting with older generations.

What significant advance(s) in relation to the IPY themes and targets can be anticipated from this project?
BTF will identify multidecadal past changes in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems at diverse sites in both polar regions. It also looks to future changes by preserving legacies of old sites, data and environmental records, and by passing knowledge between generations of researchers. We will combine old knowledge with new technological abilities to improve the baseline data established more than 30 years ago into a current benchmark understanding of the state of the polar environment that will persist over future decades. BTF will provide services for other IPY projects (e.g. data for validation of remote sensing and modelling, process-orientated projects, and data on changes in resources for human populations). Data will also be used to investigate new frontiers in ecological theory and polar global connectivity.

What international collaboration is involved in this project?
BTF explicitly builds on the International Biological Programme. Participants come from both hemispheres, all Arctic Rim countries and others with polar interests. Links will be made to other international projects such as CEON*, SCANNET*, ITEX*, GOA* and CALM*. International expressions of interest are already substantial: BTF will be inclusive, not exclusive.

FIELD ACTIVITY DETAILS

Geographical location(s) for the proposed field activities:
Core IBP sites include:- Sub-antarctic Macquarie Island, Signy Island and South Georgia: Arctic/Sub-arctic Disko Island (Greenland), Stordalen (Sweden), Point Barrow (Alaska), Kevo (Finland), Tareya (Russia), Devon Island (Canada), Stigstuv and Finse (Norway), Moor House (UK). Additional sites will be visited in Greenland, Svalbard, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Finland.

Approximate timeframe(s) for proposed field activities:
Arctic: Arctic Summer 2007      Arctic Summer 2008      
Antarctic: Antarctic Summer 2007-2008      Antarctic Summer 2008-2009      

Significant facilities will be required for this project:
Logistic needs vary according to site location. Some sites are easily accessible and require no specific logistical support while others require specific transport, camp support or space at research platforms. In general, logistics can be shared.

Will the project leave a legacy of infrastructure?
Yes. BTF explicitly builds on the legacies of human capital, data and fixed sites derived from IBP. In return, BTF will leave legacies of younger generations of human capital, new data and knowledge bases and a wide, and geographically diverse network of permanently recorded and well documented sites - a benchmark for detection of future environmental change.

How is it envisaged that the required logistic support will be secured?
Consortium
Own national polar operator
National agency
Military support
Commercial operator
Own support

Field sites under different management authorities will be encouraged to work together.

Has the project been "endorsed" at a national or international level?
The Stordalen site is operated by the Abisko Station in Sweden and this has been approved as a Swedish IPY platform by the Swedish Polar Committee that is also the IPY committee. Other National Committees will also review the proposed involvement of their respective participants in BTF.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURE

Is the project a short-term expansion (over the IPY 2007-2008 timeframe) of an existing plan, programme or initiative or is it a new autonomous proposal?
New

BTF is a new, autonomous project but builds on the International Biological Programme’s Tundra Biome participants and site infrastructure which still exist after 30 years. Also, BTF will have strong involvement of the existing networks of CEON* and SCANNET* and will link to other projects such as ITEX* and major programmes such as AMAP*, CAFF* and ACIA*.

How will the project be organised and managed?
BTF will convene an international steering committee and will hold workshops to plan and co-ordinate activities. Scientists that established sites decades ago will meet with younger researchers to accumulate site records and data together with original photographic and more recent remote sensing records. Co-ordinators of relevant linked IPY initiatives (GOA* and ITEX*) will be invited to planning meetings to derive added value from site visits. Subsequent data analysis will focus across the scales of site-specific changes and regional changes. The Steering Committee will organise workshops on cross-site comparisons and metadata analyses and a synthesis meeting analogous to the final Tundra Biome meeting of 1974 will be held in 2009/10.

What are the initial plans of the project for addressing the education, outreach and communication issues outlined in the Framework document?
Research students and undergraduates, including Indigenous People in appropriate sites, will be key participants in data collection, processing and interpretation. Short international courses, as organised by UArctic*, will be developed to facilitate international student exchange. Websites for CEON, SCANNET, individual field sites and observatories will be upgraded to enhance public communication.

What are the initial plans of the project to address data management issues (as outlined in the Framework document?
Data management will follow best practices established within IBP*, CEON*, SCANNET* and NSF* to ensure improved availability and accessibility of data. CEON will map site locations and characteristics. We will use existing facilities for data archiving, management and access, including the JOSS (funded by NSF), SCANNET* and COMAAR*.

How is it proposed to fund the project?
Currently, funding is provided by individual countries for monitoring and observations in the Polar Regions and for maintaining sites and infrastructures. We anticipate approaching these same agencies and others (EU, Nordic Council of Ministers, National IPY committees, etc) for expanded funding for IPY.

Is there additional information you wish to provide?
The IPY initiative is timely for this project: it is probably the last opportunity to safeguard the future of invaluable 30+ year old well-documented sites throughout the world’s northern and southern cold regions. The project will reinforce existing networks and establish others that will have benefits for decades: the human capital, IBP* Tundra Biome network and camaraderie established more than 30 years ago has persisted to allow this proposal to be formulated. The same factors have been responsible for many developments in polar ecological research (e.g. ITEX*) while data collected more than 30 years ago have contributed importantly to the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment. We wish to perpetuate the legacy created by the IBP* Tundra biome. *Acronymns ACIA Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment AMAP Arctic Monitoring and assessment Programme CALM Circumarctic Active Layer Monitoring Programme CEON Circumpolar Environmental Observatories Network COMAAR Co-ordinated Observation and Monitoring of the Arctic for Assessment and research GOA Greening of the Arctic IBP International Biological Programme ITEX International Tundra Experiment JOSS NSF National Science Foundation (USA SCANNET Scandinavian-North European Network of Terrestrial Field Bases Uarctic University of the Arctic

PROPOSER DETAILS

Prof Terry Callaghan
Abisko Scientific Research Station


SE 981-07
Sweden

Tel: +46 (0) 980 40071
Mobile: Alternative phone number +44 (0) 1457763003
Fax: +46 (0) 980 40171
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