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The Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) at Colorado State University, USA is a NEESPI Focus Research Centre for Land Use Studies. As part of this role NREL have set up The Eurasia Land Network.The purpose Eurasia Land Network (ELN) is to act as an information exchange for researchers working on land related projects in Eurasia. The network aims to bring together links to existing networks, projects and researchers in the region or working in the region. The ELN is associated with the North Eurasia Earth Science Partnership Initiative (NEESPI) and The Global Land Project (GLP). The network will also be associated with a forthcoming 'China arid land' network (details will be posted soon). The remit of ELN combines aspects of both NEESPI and GLP. The ELN aims to bring together researchers who are working to answer the question: 'How are human activities on Eurasian land affecting feedbacks to the earth system and the subsequent response of the human-environment system to global change'
Focus on Land Ecosystems and landscapes are subject to constant change as a result of human activities. This is leading to changes in biogeochemical cycles, hydrologic processes and landscape dynamics affecting ecosystems and ecosystem services. Human well-being and the ability of the biosphere to sustain life depends on the function of ecosystems and ecosystem services. An integrated multidisciplinary approach is needed to understand coupled human environmental systems and how human actions affect natural process of the terrestrial biosphere. This is particularly true in areas of the globe which have undergone recent changes in land use change as a result of anthropogenic activity. Eurasia constitutes such an area, with much of it having gone through major political changes during the 1990s with resultant land use change. In addition, this part of the globe is undergoing significant changes – particularly those changes associated with a rapidly warming climate. Much of Eurasia consists of carbon rich tundra, with massive potential for carbon release to the atmosphere under a warmer climate, which would exacerbate the problem of global warming. A better understanding of the impact of human actions on the terrestrial biosphere in Eurasia, is therefore needed at the global as well as the local level. Eurasia
The Eurasia Land Network covers the same area as NEESPI: 15 E Longitude in the west The NEESPI study area includes the Former Soviet Union, Northern China, Mongolia, Fennoscandia, Eastern Europe and the coastal zone of these countries. The map above shows land cover for the region. |
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