Water, Air, Soil

Photo Credit

Preston Keres

Estimates suggest that tropical forests supply drinking water and other essential services to more than 500 million people worldwide. To protect these vital resources from threats like climate change, the International Institute of Tropical Forestry conducts research that monitors the state of water, soil and air in the tropical forests of the US Caribbean and identifies the factors that most affect them. To achieve this, Institute scientists use a watershed-based research approach, which involves evaluating processes occurring from headwaters to the seas and employing key biological parameters and social ecological indicators to effectively characterize and manage these vulnerable resources.