IGBP and its projects

link to the IGBP homepage

Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) forms part of a larger international scientific research programme: the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), that was established in 1986 by the International Council for Science (ICSU). The objective of IGBP is:

To describe and understand the interactive physical, chemical and biological processes that regulate the total Earth system, the unique environment it provides for life, the changes that are occurring in this system, and the manner in which they are influenced by human actions.

To this end several core projects have been established, like GCTE, addressing global-change related questions in atmospheric chemistry, biospheric aspects of the hydrological cycle, the coastal zone, land-use/cover change, oceanic carbon fluxes, marine ecosystems, and palaeo-environmental sciences.

IGBP Research focuses on six key questions that are addressed by eight Core Projects:

1. How is the chemistry of the global atmosphere regulated and what is the role of biological processes in producing and consuming trace gases?
   International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project (IGAC)
2. How will global change affect terrestrial ecosystems?
   Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE)
   Land-Use/Cover Change (LUCC)
3. How does vegetation interact with physical processes of the hydrological cycle?
   Biospheric Aspects of the Hydrological Cycle (BAHC)
4. How will changes in land-use, sea level and climate alter coastal ecosystems and what are the wider consequences?
   Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ)
5. How do ocean biogeochemical and ecological processes influence and respond to global change?
   Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS)
   Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC)
6. What significant climate and environmental changes have occurred in the past and what were their causes?
   Past Global Changes (PAGES)

The integration of IGBP Core Projects is assisted by three cross-cutting Framework Activities:

• IGBP Data and Information System (IGBP-DIS)
• Global Analysis, Interpretation and Modelling (GAIM)
• Global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training (START)