CongoFlux research site is centered around an eddy covariance flux tower at INERA research center in Yangambi, in the heart of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This tower measures the long-term exchange of greenhouse gases (GHG e.g., CO2, N2O, CH4, H2O) between a mixed lowland tropical forest in the Congo basin and atmosphere, using the eddy covariance method.
In addition, our research team also continuously collects meteorological data, atmospheric O3 concentration and auxiliary data such as tree species composition, net primary productivity, leaf area index and soil data and GHG emission from the soil using automatic chambers.
Context
The Congo Basin is the second largest contiguous tropical forest in the world after the Amazon. It is therefore an important component of the global CO2 balance, but the strength of its CO2 sink has not yet been sufficiently studied to be accurately quantified. To fill this gap, ISOFYS in scientific collaboration with the INERA research centre has installed the very first functional flux tower in the Congo Basin forest, more precisely in the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve (Tshopo Province, former Oriental Province, DRC).
Congo Basin countries are requesting increasing attention for its potential role in climate change mitigation and “loss and damage” payment. In line with this international interest, Yangambi hosted the PreCOP-27 in 2022 to discuss these issues.
