TERMITES vs. DESERTS

FROM:  THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Dirt mounds made by termites in Africa, South America, Asia could prevent spread of deserts
Termites create oases of moisture, plant life
February 5, 2015

Termites might not top the list of humanity's favorite insects, but new research suggests that their large dirt mounds are crucial to stopping deserts from spreading into semi-arid ecosystems.

The results indicate that termite mounds could make these areas more resilient to climate change.

The findings could also inspire a change in how scientists determine the possible effects of climate change on ecosystems.

In the parched grasslands and savannas, or drylands, of Africa, South America and Asia, termite mounds store nutrients and moisture and via internal tunnels, allow water to better penetrate the soil.

As a result, vegetation flourishes on and near termite mounds in ecosystems that are otherwise vulnerable to desertification.

Researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Science that termites slow the spread of deserts into drylands by providing a moist refuge for vegetation on and around their mounds.

Drylands with termite mounds can survive on significantly less rain than those without termite mounds.

Not all termites are pests

"This study demonstrates that termite mounds create important refugia for plants and help to protect vast landscapes in Africa from the effects of drought," said Doug Levey, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research.

"Clearly," said Levey, "not all termites are pests."

The research was inspired by the fungus-growing termite species, Odontotermes, but the results apply to all types of termites that increase resource availability on or around their mounds.

Corresponding author Corina Tarnita, a Princeton University ecologist and evolutionary biologist, said that termite mounds also preserve seeds and plant life, which helps surrounding areas rebound faster once rainfall resumes.

"Because termites allow water to penetrate the soil better, plants grow on or near the mounds as if there were more rain," said Tarnita. "The vegetation on and around termite mounds persists longer and declines slower.

"Even when you get to harsh conditions where vegetation disappears from the mounds, re-vegetation is still easier. As long as the mounds are there the ecosystem has a better chance to recover."

The stages of desertification: Where termites fit in

In grasslands and savannas, five stages mark the transition to desert, each having a distinct pattern of plant growth.

The researchers found that these plant growth patterns exist on a much smaller scale than previously thought. Overlaying them is the pattern of termite mounds covered by dense vegetation.

The termite-mound pattern, however, looks deceptively similar to the last and most critical of the five stages that mark the transition of drylands to desert.

Vegetation patterns that might be interpreted as the onset of desertification could mean the opposite: that plants are persevering thanks to termite mounds.

Termite mounds help grassland plants persevere

Robert Pringle, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist at Princeton and co-author of the paper, said that the unexpected function of termites in savannas and grasslands suggests that ants, prairie dogs, gophers and other mound-building creatures could also have important roles in ecosystem health.

"This phenomenon and these patterned landscape features are common," Pringle said.

"Exactly what each type of animal does for vegetation is hard to know in advance. You'd have to get into a system and determine what is building the mounds and what the properties of the mounds are.

"I like to think of termites as linchpins of the ecosystem in more than one way. They increase the productivity of the system, but they also make it more stable and more resilient."

Termites: Linchpins of the ecosystem

A mathematical model developed for the work determines how these linchpins affect plant growth.

The scientists applied tools from physics and mathematical and numerical analysis to understand a biological phenomenon, said paper first author Juan Bonachela of Strathclyde University in Scotland.

The model allowed the researchers to apply small-scale data to understand how rainfall influences vegetation growth and persistence in the presence and absence of termites across an entire ecosystem.

"Similar studies would be extremely challenging to perform in the field and would require very long-term experiments," Bonachela said.

"Models such as this allow us to study the system with almost no constraint of time or space and explore a wide range of environmental conditions with a level of detail that can't be attained in the field."

Additional support for the research was provided by a Princeton Environmental Institute Grand Challenges grant, the National Geographic Society, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a John Templeton Foundation Foundational Questions in Evolutionary Biology grant.

-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK FINANCES $34 MILLION IN EXPORTS TO SUPPORT 200 U.S. JOBS

FROM:  EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 
Ex-Im Bank Approves $34 Million to Finance the Export of U.S. 
Solar-Related Products to Spain and South Africa
Transaction Supports White House Power Africa Initiative

Washington, D.C. – As part of its renewable-energy push, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a pair of direct loans totaling $33.6 million to Abengoa of Seville, Spain, that will facilitate the export of American heat-transfer fluid produced by The Dow Chemical Company for use in solar projects in Spain and South Africa.    

Ex-Im Bank’s financing will support approximately 200 U.S. jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

“Ex-Im Bank’s consistent support of renewable-energy projects demonstrates our commitment to supporting high-skilled jobs in an important homegrown industry and improving the environment,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “In addition to contributing to cleaner sources of energy and supporting U.S. jobs, these two transactions will support President Obama’s goal of doubling access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Power Africa is a new initiative to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. In its initial phase, the United States has already committed more than $7 billion in financial support to this effort.

DOWTHERMTM A heat-transfer fluid from Dow is a key component of the steam-heating process in concentrated solar power plants and replaces conventional fossil-fuel boilers.

Headquartered in Midland, Mich., The Dow Chemical Company, and its consolidated subsidiaries (Dow), delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions through the production, marketing, and sales of specialty chemicals and advanced materials and plastics. Dow operates manufacturing sites in 36 countries and employs approximately 54,000 people.

“The Ex-Im Bank is enabling growth in the U.S. and beyond,” said Carolina Barrios, market development manager for Dow Heat Transfer Fluids. “By supporting the use of high quality, U.S.-made exports, this transaction advances the competitiveness of Dow manufacturing and operations jobs locally, while helping to meet clean energy demands around the world.”

Abengoa is an international company based in Seville, Spain, that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors. The company operates two parabolic-trough solar plants in Logrosan, Spain, and is currently building two plants in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa with the Industrial Development Corporation. The two plants in Spain and one of the two in South Africa will rely upon DOWTHERM A.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS REMARK'S ON 'EMERGING GLOBAL ECONOMIC ORDER'

Photo:  Taj Mahal.  Credit:  U.S. State Department.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

The New Emerging Global Economic Order: Taking the U.S.-India Example
Remarks
Robert D. Hormats
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs
Agra, India
January 28, 2013
As prepared for delivery

Thank you for that wonderful greeting. I am honored to accept your invitation to participate in the Partnership 2013 Summit. For me this is an excellent opportunity to learn from so many distinguished women and men from across India and from around the world. To be back in Agra, against the backdrop of one of the great works of art and love of mankind, the TajMahal, is a distinct and profound pleasure. I am always happy to be in India. On Saturday, I fulfilled a long held wish, when I was able to witness Republic Day in all of its splendor. It is a remarkable event that I will long remember.

I first came to India as a young man. I traveled the Grand Trunk Road and discovered for myself "incredible India" – long before that term became a common one. My month-long journey on buses and trains – and sometimes on top of buses and trains – was one I have never forgotten. I saw up close and in action this country’s vibrant democracy, and rich, diverse, creative society. I was left with a deep and enduring affection for both India’s people and its indomitable spirit.

It is common knowledge that we are in the midst of an historic realignment in the locus of economic growth and demographics globally. Emerging economies in South and East Asia in particular are making, and are projected to continue to make, historical gains.Some in the developed world may find this threatening. I view the growing regional linkages and rapid economic growth in Asia as an opportunity to expand the economic pie and create additional growth for all.

A New Silk Road linking Central and South Asia as well as an Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor linking the rapidly expanding economies of South and Southeast Asia would help unlock and expand markets for global goods and services.

I will speak more about regional economic integration on Wednesday, in Delhi. But today I want to focus on the role industrialized countries and emerging economies can play together in the rapidly changing global economic order.

I believe nations like mine can seize this opportunity to develop new sets of cooperative relations with emerging economies to increase trade, encourage closer cultural ties, boost energy production and reliability, address environmental challenges, and improve global stability. We seek new partnerships to address the needs of the 21st century.

The burgeoning U.S.-India economic relationship is a prime example of how this is unfolding. I am not a believer in a zero sum game. The more we, and other nations represented here, can cooperate in ensuring a fair, transparent, rules based trading and financial system, with broadly shared responsibility, the more we all will prosper. The New Global Economic Order will require both the utilization of current institutions, but also pragmatic bilateral and regional cooperation.

The depth and breadth of U.S.-India ties make this relationship a model for discussing Global Partnerships for Enduring Growth – the theme of our conference. I’d like to discuss why we take this relationship so seriously.

As President Obama told the Indian parliament last year, the relationship between India and America will be one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, rooted in common values and interests. We not only welcome India as a strong and influential participant in the world economy, we fully support it. I would say the same about the nations of ASEAN and others in this region. Indeed, we see ASEAN and India as two of the strongest pillars of the global economies in the 21st century.

When people ask why the United States is so interested in expanding its ties with India, my response is three-fold – One, our ties make geo-strategic sense. Two, they make geo-economic sense. And three, and most importantly, our citizens will benefit from it.

In India, Prime Minister Singh has labeled this the "Decade of Innovation." He concurrently established the National Innovation Council to create policies that support medium-to-long term innovation in India. As the Government of India notes in its draft National IPR strategy, "for innovation to create any impact, it is imperative to take the idea from the mind to the laboratory to the market."But to do that, innovators in areas such as information technology, pharmaceuticals, and clean energy need assurance that their ideas will be protected throughout that process. This is not only for them. It encourages more innovation and investment in these and other sectors. That is why we strongly support working together with India and other nations of Asia to ensure a strong intellectual property rights system that will encourage high-technology innovations, providing wide-spread benefits to all of our nations.

We also encouragethe Indian government and all of our trading partners to considera range of market-based solutions that can better support jobs and growth, while creating a level playing field.Predictable and clear policies will encourage businesses to expand, and to devote the long-term capital and resources required for further growth.Working together, the United States and India can realize the kind of innovation our leaders envision.Science, technology, and the environment are areas characterized by mutual interest and expanding cooperation.

Our collaborative effort in agriculture includes efforts to stop food loss between the farmer and the consumer, increasing prosperity for both. Such losses are enormous and a great tragedy. This can be prevented by cold chain storage and other methods. Companies are willing to invest in such systems if given the right opportunities and a welcoming environment.

On the investment side, the U.S. and Indian governments have engaged in Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) negotiations. We’re aiming for a BIT that gives a high level of openness to investment across the economy, provides strong rules on investor protection and transparency, and offers effective means for resolving investment disputes.Our S&T cooperation includes cutting edge work in space science, where we work together on Earth observation satellite projects that help us predict monsoon patterns and respond to natural disasters.

The Clean Energy Finance Center in New Delhi represents U.S. agencies that have mobilized more than $1.7 billion for clean energy projects in India, working in tandem with Indian government and industry partners. We both benefit from our comprehensive strategic dialogue on energy, in light of dramatic changes in technology and in the global energy market . This dialogue takes on even more importancewith the growing role of the Indian Ocean in global energy shipments, regional energy and maritime security, growing power needs, and sustainable clean energy objectives. We seek a broader and deeper dialogue on energy, for similar reasons, with countries in south and east Asia. We do not see the American energy boom as a reason to pull back from engagement, but as an opportunity to expand mutually beneficial engagement.
In addition to business connections, people to people connections are one of our strongest links.

More than 12,000 American alumni of Indian institutions are part of our efforts to strengthen and broaden relations with India.So are the more than three million Indian-Americans living in the United States. And last year, over 100,000 Indian students came to the U.S. to study.

With the increasing connectivity of our universities, our businesses, and our civil societies, we are seeing more engagement than ever. And I think thatincreasingly,state-level and city-level leadersin both countries, see great opportunities for their citizens from new city-to-city and state-to-state partnerships. Theseare creating the next generation, and a deeper level, of economic diplomacy. More and more international economic diplomacy will be the work of mayors, governors, chief ministers and their teams.

For example:

• Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Chauhan recently visited the U.S. to describe his state’s ambitious agriculture reforms, including loan guarantees to farmers, improving irrigation, and "a single window system" for expeditious foreign investment approvals;

• CII—our hosts today—recently brought a delegation of business leaders from the state of Jammu & Kashmir to visit several U.S. cities. J&K has developed cold chain infrastructure with the help of U.S. partners that preserves apples as they go from farm to market, much as Tamil Nadu has done for bananas. Both are very positive examples;

• Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear just announced a 25-year coal deal between American companies and India;

• Washington state’s Governor Christine Gregoire has established partnerships in energy, life sciences, and film; and

• City mayors like San Antonio’s dynamicJulian Castro—who will also be participating at this summit tomorrow—are building ties with new and existing India partners.

• Our Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley led a trade mission to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and New Delhi. Thisrepresented the largest ever state trade mission to India. Because Maryland is my home state I am especially proud of this.

In the Third U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, Secretary Clinton welcomed Minister Krishna’s proposal for a "Conversation Between Cities" to take place in 2013 to address "urban challenges and solutions in the 21st Century."

Our states and our cities are the real laboratory test tubes of democracy and creative economic policy —where our citizens are in close and direct contact with their local governments, where our entrepreneurs establish and develop new business that drive employment, and where our institutions of higher education help us all enhance our skills and retrain for new opportunities.
So the robust connections between Indian and American states and cities are a welcome commercial development, and offer both countries more ways to take the strategic partnership to an even more ambitious level. We seek to do the same with others in this region.

While we have come far, we still have more work to do to ensure this relationship achieves its potential. The United States is enormously optimistic about India’s future –

(1) that India’s greater role on the world stage will enhance peace and security;

(2) thatfurther opening India’s markets will pave the way to greater regional and global prosperity;

(3) that Indian advances in science and technology will improve lives and advance human knowledge everywhere; and

(4) that India’s vibrant, pluralistic democracy – where the rights of men and women are equally represented and both have an equal opportunity to succeed and contribute – will produce measurable results and improvements for its citizens.

But our governments cannot assume the relationship will be self-sustaining without mutual effort. This is the challenge we all face today. We have the opportunity to establish a framework for enduring growth for our two countries. And all of our countries together need to establish a series of bilateral and regional partnership for Central Asia, for East Asia, and for connections between them. Now each of us individually and – all of us– need to take the next steps to ensure that this process continues and strengthens.