Geophysical Campaign to Image CZ Structure Along Hillslope Gradients in the Neotropics

🌎 How Does the Amazon Rainforest Respond to Drought?
The project, led by Professor Ying Fan Reinfelder (Rutgers University), with the participation of Brazilian researcher Caio Mattos, and in partnership with scientists such as Marina Hirota (UFSC) and Rafael Oliveira (UNICAMP), investigates how the depth of the water table influences plant distribution and their vulnerability to drought in the Amazon.

🔍The premise is both simple and powerful: plants in lower-lying areas, with greater access to groundwater, may actually be more vulnerable because they are “spoiled” by this abundance of water. The study includes:

• Data collection in the Tapajós National Forest (PA);

• Measurements of water depth and the hydraulic characteristics of plants;

• Participation in the international ATBC symposium in Colombia, with a keynote lecture by Caio Mattos.

🌱The goal is to improve climate models and strengthen international collaboration in environmental change research.

📍Project funded by the Rutgers Global Environmental Change Grant
🔬In partnership with universities from Brazil, Canada, and the USA