TROBIT
(Tropical Biomes in Transition)

Introduction

Significant changes in global vegetation patterns are anticipated over the coming century. These transformations may be dramatic in tropical regions, with regional drying exacerbated and global warming amplified due to biosphere/atmosphere feedbacks associated with this vegetation change.

An interlinked research agenda is required to obtain an inclusive understanding of the tropical vegetation/climate interaction and its consequences for future climate. The TROBIT research program is working to provide this information. TROBIT, which stands for Tropical Biomes in Transition, is a consortium of leading UK climate modellers, micrometeorologists, climatologists, earth observation scientists, vegetation modellers, ecologists, soil scientists and plant physiologists. We examine the role of tropical biome transitions in affecting the magnitude and rate of future climate change. The project has strong links to established local collaborators on three continents. Taken as a whole, TROBIT is a multidisciplinary model-data development program with the specific objective of obtaining new and better predictions of the state of the future Earth System.