A non-covid19 issue but still connected about the ongoing situation of forest research in Venezuela. For many years, and thanks to the pioneering effort of many people, we have one of the longest forest monitoring efforts in the tropical region: A thread🧶 natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/users/385533-e…
Since the 1950s, a swiss forester by the name Jean Pierre Veillon (right in the pic - 1914-2002) started a tremendous effort to monitor the dynamics and structure of different forest-types across Venezuela, supported by Universidad de Los Andes. Photo courtesy of Giorgio Tonella. 
Later in the 1970s, scientists from the Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC) along with other international partners began an iconic project to understand the ecology of Amazon forests in San Carlos de Río Negro. Photo: Carl Jordan daac.ornl.gov/NPP/guides/NPP…
More recently, and in the Guiana Shield region, colleagues from Universidad de Guayana (UNEG) also started a project to track the ecology of the forests of the region within the Canaima National Park. Photos courtesy of Lionel Hernández.
Over the years, the data collected served as a source of important information to track the dynamics of numerous tree species populations, stem turnover and carbon. Since 2004, we joined the Amazon Forest Inventory Network #RAINFOR (rainfor.org)
Numerous studies have been coming out since then showing how tropical forests of South America function, and how they might be affected by climate change. In Venezuela, we have maintained up to 2016 our continuous measurements with the help of many incredible and talented people!
Some areas have been monitored over a period of 40-50 years in the Andes, Western Plains and the Guiana Shield. This is an invaluable amount of ecological information that serves as an input for understanding about the carbon and the diversity of these areas
Deforestation and degradation are forces of ecological disruption that are threatening the stability of some of these ecosystems also posing a severe risk of maintaining some of these sites as functioning research sites. news.mongabay.com/2018/05/crisis…
Political and socio-economic conditions, along with a humanitarian crisis have also made harder to continue with this project. Our short note seeks calling for attention to this issue which is not only limited to forest-related research but for all science fields in the country.
*** Pronto un hilo similar en español 🇻🇪 ***
