Investigating Mediterranean Silvo-Arable-Pastoral Ecosystems by Combining Measurements with Statistical and Mechanistic Models

Where: Sardinia, Italy

When: Summers of 2015, 2016, 2017

Program description: Cohorts of five outstanding undergraduate and graduate students will join a team of scientists from Italy and USA to study the Mediterranean silvo-arable-pastoral ecosystems. These ecosystems are composed of a diverse array of vegetation types, land uses, and human settlements. Research will be conducted at the Berchidda Long Term Observatory in collaboration with scientists from the University of Sassari and will include field, laboratory and computer modeling work.

The broad scientific question the project addresses is: how can we model the stocks of organic C and N and their rate of change in each component of this mosaic landscape? Within this broad question, students will work on individual projects under the mentorship of a scientist from University of Sassari. Upon their return, students will prepare a report, poster, or publication to disseminate their findings.

This program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF award #1358189).

Contact us for more information: and

Note: This program ended in 2018.

Summer 2015 pictures
Summer 2016 Pictures
Summer 2017 pictures
Students' presentations