 The UC Natural Reserve System provides unmatched research opportunities. Over two thousand researchers from the University of California, as well as from many other institutions from across the country and around the world, currently work on hundreds of research projects on NRS reserves. This compendium highlights thirteen large-scale investigations that involve collaborative efforts of interdisciplinary teams of investigators from multiple institutions in research that is part of a larger national or international effort. These projects all aim at gaining more complete understanding of the basic physical and ecological processes that govern the functioning of the biosphere. Such understanding is critically important to the sustainable wise management of natural resources, whether they be terrestrial or marine. The list includes national centers and microbial observatories funded by the National Science Foundation, as well as landscape-scale projects funded by both federal agencies and private foundations. Addressing today’s global environmental problems requires that scientists work together in new ways, employing new tools, and on a scale that was unimaginable just a few years ago. The availability of a network of protected reserves that reflects California’s diverse ecosystems and is dedicated to research and teaching is an invaluable resource for both scientists and educators.
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The UC Natural Reserve System plays an enabling role in major research projects that are of nationwide significance. By providing protected, landscape-scale locales, as well as support facilities, dedicated to research, these sites attract specialists in a wide diversity of fields, ranging from ecology, engineering, and marine biology, to computer science, geology, and forestry. These interdisciplinary teams of researchers are developing systems and techniques that will lead to the next generation of scientific breakthroughs.
