Case Studies
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Case Studies
Our work at MENSURIS builds on developing, resourcing and managing an innovative, high impact science-based portfolio of research, policy-analysis and implementation projects. Outcomes include: (a) studies of land-use and land-cover alterations caused by spatial and temporal trends in agriculture, (b) regional resource pressure issues, (c) ecological indicators of forest ecosystem services, and (d) Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects which includes activities to reduce GHG emissions or sequester CO2 and produce Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). -
Working Forests for Energy Generation and the Restoration of Riparian Ecosystems in São Paulo, Brazil
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas and Bruce A. McCarl
For the last sixty years land degradation/abandonment, resulting from use for extensive sugarcane, coffee, annual crops, and citrus, as well as livestock grazing, have caused large abandoned but previously vegetated areas in São Paulo, Brazil. Some of this area naturally regenerated into forest patches...
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Documenting and Understanding Biochemical Changes Affecting the Sustainability of Tropical Forest Ecosystem Services in Southeastern Brazil
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas and Andrea Lini
This project demonstrates the use of isotope tracers to map pollutant exposure and the response of native plants biomarkers in the metropolitan area of Campinas, SP, Brazil, spanning urban and rural areas across a major oil refinery pollution gradient where large economic factors are involved. Forests...
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Voluntary Incentive Mechanisms Targeting Environmental Benefits of Rubber Trees and Species of Native Flora in the Atlantic Rainforest and Cerrado Biomes
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas
The devastation of native forests and the habitat that they provided are specific threats to the structure, function and stability of the Atlantic Rainforest and Cerrado biomes in the Northwestern part of São Paulo. For this reason, we are testing the “Agglomeration Bonus”, designed to induce landowners to reduce the effects...
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Indicators of Forest Ecosystem Functions for Valuing LandBased Mitigation of Agriculture's Environmental Impacts
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas and Daniel Markewitz
This project focuses on evaluating how ecological indicators can be utilized to demonstrate the effects of land use alterations on forest ecosystem functions. This is critical because the expansion of agriculture may have influenced climate to an important degree...
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Biochemical Changes Affecting the Sustainability of Ecologicaly Significant Areas of the Chihuahuan Desert Ecosystems
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas
Hyperspectral imaging, and ultrafast high resolution laser-based infrared absorption spectroscopy are proposed for measuring the impact of various gases (including greenhouse gases, trace gases) and aerosols on biodiversity in the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems and...
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Brazil Nut Cultivation for Sustainable Development in the Amazon
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas and Roger D. Norton
We contributed to the design and use of high-value non-timber forest products on smallholder plots to achieve sustainable reforestation of degraded areas in the Amazon Basin, protect and promote biodiversity, provide environmental services including mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions...
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Analysis of Strenghts, Weakenesses, Possibilities and Pitfalls of Ecosystem Accounting
Norton Siano Ribeiro de Freitas
Ecosystem accounting is a technique used to quantify the monetary value of a change in the level of a good or service. This technique is based in economic theory and information that can be used to evaluate trade-offs in biodiversity conservation policy choices. Biodiversity underlies the provision of...