Abstract:

Within the EU programme period of 2007-2013, the Czech Republic received a significant financial contribution from the so called Structural Funds. This contribution was drawn through several Operational Programmes. A large portion of these funds was invested into the promotion of science and research. The Ministry of Education, was the guarantor of the Operational Programme Research and Development for Innovation, funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the Convergence objective. This programme, aimed at strengthening the research, development and pro-innovation potential of the Czech Republic, made it possible to fund projects supporting the foundation of European centers of Excellence through one of the priority axes. One of the research centers that were supported is also the Centre of Excellence CzechGlobe at the Global Change Research Centre AS CR.

The objective of the CzechGlobe project (CZ1.05/1.1.00/02.0073) was to build a modern research infrastructure enabling comprehensive research on the causes and consequences of the Global Change. The understanding of the Global Change phenomenon requires deep specialized knowledge of the issue and the application of interdisciplinary research that has the potential to cover the basic segments of its effects as well as their interactions. The segments are: atmosphere and climate, ecosystems and social and economic systems.

With regards to the coverage of these three thematic segments, the research in the CzechGlobe Centre is targeted primarily to the dynamics of greenhouse gases movement in the boundary layer of the atmosphere, the principle and dynamics of the carbon cycle in ecosystems, GC effects on managed ecosystems, climate prediction at regional scale and evaluating social impacts of the GC including the prediction of risk management. The research results are implemented in innovation and education systems.

The Centre’s current infrastructure, which is offered to domestic and foreign scientists in an open access format in view of its close connection to European infrastructures and projects, consists of the Atmospheric Station, which is the Czech national point for observation of greenhouse gases in the reference layer of the atmosphere; the Network of Ecosystem Stations focused on monitoring, quantification and evaluation of carbon flow within basic ecosystem types in the Czech Republic and the network for monitoring the circulation of basic bio-geochemical elements in small watersheds; the Central Physiological, Isotope and Metabolomic Plant Laboratory with a focus on long-term experiments directed to the impacts of changes in the environment and enabling the study of processes related to carbon assimilation in changing conditions; the Aerial Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory and station for receiving and processing of aerial and satellite images directed to research and development of carbon cycle imaging processes using satellite images; the Incubator of Application Outputs focused on new technologies related to global changes, in particular methods of biological carbon sequestration and for production of third-generation biofuels.

Participation in the conference is supported by the project LE11008 which is funded from the EUPRO II programme of the Ministry of Education CR.

Keywords:

Research infrastructure, global change, interdisciplinary research, innovation, education, open access.