Climatic changes in Northern Eurasia (20% of the global land mass) interact and affect the rate of the Global Change through atmospheric circulation and through strong biogeophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks. These feedbacks arise from changes in surface energy, water, and carbon budgets of the continent. How this carbon-rich, cold region component of the Earth system functions as a regional entity and interacts with and feeds back to the greater global system is to a large extent unknown. Thus, the capability to predict future changes that may be expected to occur within this region and the consequences of those changes with any acceptable accuracy is currently uncertain and hampers projections of the Global Change rates.

One of the primary reasons for this lack of regional Earth system understanding is the relative paucity of well-coordinated, multidisciplinary and integrating studies of the critical physical and biological systems. Furthermore, the critical measurements needed to monitor changes in the area are not available. NEESPI strives to understand how the land ecosystems and continental water dynamics in northern Eurasia interact with and alter the climate system, the biosphere, the atmosphere, and the hydrosphere of the Earth. Its overarching Science Question is: How do we develop our predictive capability of terrestrial ecosystems dynamics over Northern Eurasia for the 21st century to support global projections as well as informed decision making and numerous practical applications in the region?

The foci of the NEESPI research strategy are the deliverables, which support both international (such as International Geosphere Biosphere Program, IGBP, World Climate Research Program, WCRP, International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Envirinmental Change, IHDP, and International Biodiversity Rersearch Program, DIVERSITAS) and national (e.g., the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, CCSP) science programs.