Participant ID: 10 - Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
	http://www.csir.co.za/

Expertise and experience The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of South Africa is a not-for-profit research and development organization, established under an Act of Parliament, and partly funded by the South African government. It is among the largest, oldest and most-respected research organizations on the African continent. The annual budget is about SAR1 billion (~120 million euro). The >2000 employees cover a wide range of research disciplines. The Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) division employs 240 scientists, of whom about 60 are in the 'Ecosystems' programme. The participants in this proposal are mostly drawn from the Ecosystems Dynamics Research Group of that programme, although it is possible that researchers from other groups (Earth Observation, Ecophysiology etc) may be called upon as well. The Ecosystem Dynamics RG consists of ten researchers, with core competence in ecological analysis and modelling, eddy covariance flux measurement and environmental isotopes. Role in this project WP1: Monitoring water, CO2 and energy exchanges over several arid fineleafed and broadleafed savannas in the northeast part of South Africa, and supplying ancillary data on weather, vegetation, soils, disturbance, herbivores etc to allow their interpretation. WP2: Predicytion of canopy dynamics (LAI) of both trees and grass in southern African savannas, using environmental and remotely-sensed data; estimating all major components of the site carbon budget for measurement sites, including measuring and modelling autotrophic respiration of trees and grass as well as heterotrophic (soil) respiration; modelling fuel load and fire-related emissions; publications on the above topics. WP3: Adaptation and calibration of the SiB model for application in savannas; modelling fire emissions of carbonaceous products at continental scale from remotely sensed information and data from climate data assimilation models; interpreation of land cover and vegetation maps of Africa for purposes of driving models; publications on these topics. WP4: Maintenance of a fuel load database for model validation; development and running of fuel load models; knowledge of emission factors and their drivers; spatial and temporal modelling of emissions. Publications on these topics. WP5: Training courses in the operation of flux measurement equipment in an African environment; supervision of African students in conjunction with the University of the Witwatersrand. WP6: Strategic and project-level assessment methods for establishing the sustainability criteria of CDM projects; practical knowledge of CDM registration processes; understanding of CDM economics. Principal Investigator and collaborators Bob Scholes, Dr., Principal Investigator, who has been with the CSIR since 1992. Before that, he led the South African Savanna Biome Research Programme. He is a systems ecologist, widely published on the topics of savanna ecology (particularly the biogeochemistry of fire) and global change. He was a member of the Implementation Plan Task Team that designed the Global Earth Observing System of Systems, co-chair of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment working group on Condition and Trend, and a former chair of the Global terrestrial Observing System. Sally Archibald, is an ecologist studying for a PhD, with an established publication track record in savanna ecosystem dynamics. Her research interests are phenology in savannas, and the ecology of fires. Walter Khubeka, is a technician who operates the Skukuza flux tower. He has two years of experience in this post, and is responsible for instrument maintenance, calibration and data capture, as well as biological sampling. Tony Knowles, is a PhD student with joint training in ecology and economics, who is working on the estimation of biophysical risk in the construction of optimal CDM portfolios. Example publications