NGEE Tropics: Next Generation Ecosystem Experiment - Tropics

Tropical forests cover less than 7 percent of the Earth’s surface, but they cycle more carbon dioxide,

carbon dioxide (CO2)

An important heat-trapping gas, also known as a greenhouse gas, that comes from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), from wildfires, and natural processes like volcanic eruptions.

Source: NASA Source

water and energy than any other biome. This multi-institutional project aims to fill the critical gaps in knowledge of tropical forest-climate system interactions. The goal is to develop a predictive understanding

predictive understanding

Predictive understanding refers to the ability of a system, typically an artificial intelligence or machine learning model, to anticipate future events or outcomes based on historical data and patterns.

Source: Source

of how tropical forest carbon balance and climate system feedbacks will respond to a changing climate over the 21st Century.