Participant ID: 11 - Unité de Recherche sur la Productivité des Plantations Industrielles (UR2PI)
	http://www.ur2pi.org

Expertise and experience The " Unité de Recherche sur la Productivité des Plantations industrielles " (UR2PI) is a non profit and non governmental organization created in 1995, registered in the Congo and based in Pointe Noire. It is a join association between three main partners: The government of Congo, through both Ministry of Forest Economy and Environment and Ministry of Scientific Research, the private company managing the industrial plantations of Eucalyptus near Pointe Noire (EFC - Eucalyptus Fibre Congo) and the forestry department of Cirad (Cirad-Forêt). Its main mission is to manage research projects devoted to the sustainable management of the forests, natural and planted. UR2PI researches are organized in three research units (genetics and biodiversity, plants x environment relations, sustainable management) and two transversal services (administration and communication-transfer). The field work is done in southern Congo (Eucalyptus plantations and degraded forests) and in the north (large private concessions natural forestry and agroforestry). UR2PI staff is actually 35, of which 9 are researchers (including 3 phD), 7 are students, 7 are technicians. UR2PI research programs are annually validated by the 3 members. The results are disseminated through scientific ways (e.g. scientific papers), teaching (University) or transfer (technical notes, training courses, field visits). Its regional dimension in Central Africa is every year more and more important. UR2PI is deeply involved in capacity building and training. Training courses are organized every year e.g. CDM, plantations strategies and management in central Africa, growth and yield modelling. In the activities planned for UR2PI in CARBOAFRICA, UR2PI also agrees to welcome short to long term students from various countries, especially from French speaking African countries. UR2PI is every year more and more implicated in international research projects and political events such as the recent Comifac summit held in Brazzaville last February. Role in this project WP1: in collaboration with CIRAD, monitoring climate, water, soil moisture, temperature, CO2 and energy exchanges over Eucalyptus plantation and savanna; writing publications; WP2: monitoring canopy dynamic (LAI, FAPAR), above- and belowground plant growth, litterfall and fine root turnover, total and heterotrophic soil respiration, at the eddy-covariance sites; estimating soil carbon budget and SOC dynamic after afforestation; estimation of above- and below-ground biomasses in plantations and root turn-over in savannas; participation in data analysis, modelisation, and writing publications. WP5: regional networking for central Africa; regional seminar on carbon developments in central Africa; training courses, training documents and field works; supervision of African students. Final international scientific conference. WP6: participation in literature review; identification of relationships between indicators of soil functioning and stand growth; participation in collecting, analysing data and edition of results on assessing carbon, water and nutrient budgets in Eucalyptus plantations in the Congo; participation in collecting data for the coupling GIS and G & Y models; writing publications. Principal Investigator and collaborators Jean-Noël Marien, is the director of UR2PI, with more than 30 years of experience in forest research and projects management, in Europe, mediterranean and tropical countries. He is director of UR2PI since 2001 and intensively implicated in the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. Rosalie Matondo, is the leader of Research Unit "sustainable management", with specific interests in plantation silviculture, agroforestry and rehabilitation of degraded tropical forests. She is responsible of the organization of the training courses organized by UR2PI. Armel Thongo Mbou, is a junior researcher, actually finishing his PhD on roots physiology and architectural development. He is deeply involved in carbon fluxes activities under the supervision of Cirad senior scientist. Fanny Bikindou, is a junior researcher actually working on her PhD. Her work relies with the nutrient cycles in Eucalyptus plantations and defining indicators of nutrient status in plants and soils. She works under the scientific supervision of Cirad senior scientist. Guy Kazotti, is researcher. He works on the organic layer evolution and impact in the framework of an international network on soil and site productivity of plantations. He is also involved in the description of site indicators in a broad site x plant x productivity program. Adelaïde Itoua, works in the Ministry of Forest Economy and Environment. She is the focal point for the Republic of Congo on Climate Change Convention and CDM follow up. She has a broad knowledge on the political and regulatory aspects of carbon sequestration. Agnès De Grandcourt Example publications