The Agua Salud Project at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama studies how degraded landscapes can be efficiently transformed into productive secondary forests, timber plantations, natural water utilities or eco-friendly livestock ranches. Agua Salud continues a 100-year old partnership between Smithsonian and Panama. This collaborative relationship began in 1910, with the Panama Biological Survey.
Title
- Scientist, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
- Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Recent Publications
- Formation of the Isthmus of Panama (2016)
- Managing Watersheds for Ecosystem Services in the Steepland Neotropics (2015)
- Que tan Viejo es el Istmo de Panama (2015)
- A Unified Assessment of Hydrologic and Biogeochemical Responses in Research Watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico Using Runoff–Concentration Relations (2014)
- How old is the Isthmus of Panama? (2013)
Locations
- Panama
Long-Term Research
Science & Conservation
Robert Stallard studies how climate change and land cover affect water flow. As a Smithsonian Scientist and Research Hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, Robert uses the study of hydrology in human-altered landscapes to examine the role of people as ecosystem shapers. He started working for STRI in 1984 and has been working on Agua Salud since 1996, focusing on the soils and hydrology component.
Robert received a National Research Council Post Doctoral Fellowship researching clay mineralogy after receiving his Ph.D. in Chemical Oceanography from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology–Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Oceanography. He has also received a Meritorious Service Award from the U.S. Geological Survey for exceptional contribution to the development of new and innovative research programs.
Programs
Agua Salud
Active