Brazil-China scientific mission strengthens international cooperation in research on climate, biodiversity and tropical ecosystems.

*With information from Magna Moura

Between October 21 and 31, 2025, a delegation of Brazilian researchers affiliated with the Center for Studies in Biodiversity and Climate Change (CBioClima) at São Paulo State University (UNESP) participated in a series of meetings, technical visits, and seminars in China. The agenda was part of the FAPESP-NSF China cooperation, strengthening institutional ties and promoting advances in research focused on climate change, phenology, and environmental sustainability.

October 21 – Partnership and Academic Strengthening

Activities began at Beijing Normal University (BNU) with a series of presentations and institutional exchanges. On October 21, 2025, researchers from UNESP – CBioClima visited Beijing Normal University (BNU) in Beijing, strengthening the FAPESP–NSFC bilateral cooperation project “Impact of climate variability and extremes on plant phenology and its implications for biodiversity” (FAPESP–NSFC 2022/07735-5). Prof. Yongshuo Fu highlighted the importance of the partnership between projects supported by NSF China and FAPESP, emphasizing the strategic role of international science in the face of global climate and environmental challenges.

Prof. Xuan Zhang, from the College of Water Sciences (CWS) at BNU, presented the department's structure and research areas, celebrating the presence of the Brazilian delegation and the strengthening of academic ties. Following this, Prof. Patrícia Morellato presented the structure and main initiatives of CBioClima, emphasizing opportunities for scientific collaboration between the institutions.

Postgraduate students from BNU, such as Tang and Nan, also participated in the discussions, presenting their research linked to joint projects and contributing to the technical and scientific dialogue. The meeting marked an important step in building a collaborative network focused on biodiversity, sustainability, environmental innovation, and addressing climate change.

October 22 – Science in the Line of History

On the second day, Brazilian and Chinese researchers participated in a technical visit organized by Beijing Forestry University to the Badaling Forest Farm, located in the Badaling National Forest Park, near the Great Wall of China — one of the most important areas of ecological restoration and forest management in the country.

During the visit, information was presented about the park, seedling production, conservation strategies, and ongoing scientific projects, focusing on the monitoring and recovery of native vegetation and the protection of local biodiversity. The initiative reinforced the commitment of Brazil-China cooperation to applied research on sustainability and the management of forest ecosystems in areas of historical and environmental heritage.

October 23-24 – Science at Altitude

In the following days, the Brazilian team—led by Prof. Patrícia Morellato (UNESP), Prof. Tomás Domingues (USP), Bruna Alberton (UNESP), Magna Moura (EMBRAPA), and doctoral student Maria Maraiza—traveled to southern China, in Kunming, accompanied by Prof. Fu's team.

The researchers were received by Prof. Wande Liu and Associate Professor Xiaobo Huang at the Institute of Highland Forest Science of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, where they participated in a day of academic and scientific exchange.

The program included institutional presentations, a presentation of the CBioClima project by Prof. Morellato, and a presentation of the e-Phenology Network by Bruna Alberton. Discussions also took place regarding scientific cooperation and opportunities for joint research in tropical and subtropical ecosystems.

In Pu'er, the Brazilian delegation visited the Caiyanghe National Forest Park, exploring experimental areas with soil and plant sampling, meteorological stations, and micrometeorological flux towers, which are fundamental for monitoring carbon, energy, and water.

October 26 and 27 – China-Brazil Seminar in Yunnan

The China-Brazil Seminar, held at the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG), brought together Brazilian and Chinese scientists to discuss the impacts of extreme weather events on phenology and carbon, water, and energy flows in subtropical forests.

Among the highlights, Dr. Moorthy presented studies on the effects of extreme snowfall events on vegetation recovery and ecosystem flows; Wittanan Tammadid addressed the influence of diffuse radiation under fog and aerosols; and Boonsiri Sawadchai explored canopy phenology and carbon flows in the Indochina Peninsula.

Prof. Patrícia Morellato (UNESP) presented CBioClima and new perspectives for collaboration between Brazil and China, with the participation of Bruna Alberton (UNESP), Magna Moura (EMBRAPA) and Tomás Domingues (USP). During the meeting, it was announced that doctoral student Maria Maraiza will remain in China as part of an international research exchange program.

October 29th — Technical discussions with the LPJ-GUESS group and integration dinner

The activities began with a technical meeting with researchers from LPJ-GUESS, a model of vegetation dynamics and terrestrial ecosystems widely used in studies on climate change. The meeting, held at BNU, aimed to discuss areas of expertise, research interests, and available data, with a view to future collaborations in modeling, especially on phenology, physiology, water and carbon flows, focusing on tropical forests.

Prof. Yungshuo Fu (BNU) and Prof. Patrícia Morellato (UNESP) presented the FAPESP/NSFC China bilateral cooperation project, which integrates Brazilian and Chinese scientists. Researchers and graduate students from BNU were present; professors from Lund University (Sweden) — Minchao Wu, Stefan Olin, and Thomas Pugh; and from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) — Jing Tang.

Prof. Tomas Domingues (USP) shared his experience in plant physiology and presented recent data on functional traits of tropical forest species, including hydraulic aspects important for modeling. He also reported on his participation in projects such as AmazonFACE and rain exclusion experiments in the Amazon.

Following this, Dr. Bruna Alberton (UNESP) presented the phenology monitoring network in the tropics, highlighting the relationships between phenological metrics and their main drivers (climate, species, soil). She emphasized the synchronicity and strong correlation between greenness indices (Gcc) and gross primary production (GPP), especially in the Caatinga.

Complementing the discussion, Dr. Magna Moura (EMBRAPA) detailed the particularities of the Caatinga, highlighting how the negative water balance—low precipitation and high evapotranspiration—defines the behavior of species and poses challenges to ecosystem models. The diversity and adaptation of Caatinga species, as well as the flux tower located in Petrolina (PE), sparked great interest among researchers in the field of modeling.

Doctoral candidate Maria Maraiza (UNESP) also presented her doctoral research and commented on the possibilities for cooperation that will be strengthened during her approximately 30-day stay at BNU, where she intends to finalize a joint Brazil-China article.

The meeting concluded with a dinner to integrate the Brazilian group, Professor Shuo, and the researchers from LPJ-GUESS.

October 30th – Infrastructure and Innovation at Beijing Normal University

Concluding the technical visits, the delegation toured the experimental infrastructure of the College of Water Sciences (CWS), which houses one of the most advanced research complexes in hydrology and climate applied to vegetation in China. The laboratory has six controlled climate chambers, multispectral and hyperspectral drones, physiological measurement equipment, and high-performance servers for modeling vegetation and ecosystem dynamics. In addition to the research facilities, the visitors experienced the BNU's learning and social environment, which integrates science, leisure, and well-being in modern and integrated spaces.

In the afternoon, BNU engineering students attended lectures by Professor Patrícia Morellato (UNESP), entitled “Time is Everything – Phenology, Climate and Biodiversity Conservation in the Tropics,” and Professor [Name missing from original text]. Tomás Domingues (USP), with the presentation “Plant Functional Traits in Relation to Phenology”. The presentations aroused great interest among the students and opened new opportunities for academic exchange and cooperation between Brazil and China.

October 31 – Brazilian Research in the International Spotlight

Concluding her mission, researcher Bruna Alberton, from CBioClima/UNESP, participated in the International Workshop: Modelling Terrestrial Ecosystem Processes and Interactions, held at Beijing Normal University in Beijing. Bruna presented a lecture entitled “Two Decades of Phenocam Research: Progress and Challenges in Tropical Phenology Ecosystems,” in which she highlighted the advances and challenges of research using phenological cameras (phenocams) in tropical ecosystems, a technology that has revolutionized large-scale vegetation and phenology monitoring.

The event brought together scientists from Beijing Normal University, the University of Copenhagen, and Lund University, promoting discussions on modeling ecological processes, climate change, and vegetation dynamics. Brazilian participation reinforced the leading role of CBioClima and UNESP in tropical phenology research and ecosystem modeling through international collaboration.

The scientific mission consolidated a strategic alliance between Brazilian and Chinese researchers, strengthening the exchange of knowledge and technologies to understand and mitigate the effects of global climate change. With enthusiasm and a collaborative spirit, the institutions involved reaffirmed their commitment to integrated, sustainable, and internationally connected science.