Objective Fluvial ecosystems are an important element in the global carbon cycle metabolizing large amounts of terrigenous organic matter (tOM). This contributes to CO2 evasion fluxes that are under continuous reevaluation at the global scale. In contrast, research on the underlying processes is concentrated at the local ecosystem scale. This scale-gap seriously hampers process understanding across scales, limits upscaling accuracy, and reduces our scope of reaction strategies.Here, I suggest ground-breaking research on ecological processes at the intermediate ‘regional’ scale of the ‘fluvial network‘ to create a deeper mechanistic understanding of biogeochemically relevant carbon fluxes. My starting point is trifold: (1) detrital tOM has extremely high molecular-level diversity that requires consumers of equally high biodiversity for efficient respiration; (2) exactly this biodiversity of heterotrophic microbes, fungi and insects is constrained by metacommunity dynamics unfolding at a larger regional scale; and (3) the rules by which the conspicuously dendritic structure of the fluvial network shapes a metacommunity differ fundamentally from those governing regional diversity patterns of tOM resources.I hypothesize regional carbon dissimilation in ‘fluvial metaecosystems’ to be the interactive product of spatially partitioned resource and consumer diversities. I posit that this coupling of metacommunity structure to metaecosystem function is influenced by fluvial network topology, anthropogenic network fragmentation, and terrestrial matrix variation. Research will combine experiments in innovative lab-scale metaecosystems, spatially explicit modelling using cellular automata, and field studies spanning gradients of regional anthropogenic impact in real fluvial networks. I expect this cross-disciplinary research at the crucial landscape scale to generate novel mechanistic process understanding behind fluvial carbon fluxes in a world changing at ever faster pace. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologylandscape ecologynatural sciencesmathematicspure mathematicstopologynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteinsenzymesnatural sciencesbiological scienceszoologyinvertebrate zoology Keywords metacommunity metaecosystem limnology biodiversity spatial ecology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2016-STG - ERC Starting Grant Call for proposal ERC-2016-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK Net EU contribution € 721 821,20 Address INNRAIN 52 6020 Innsbruck Austria See on map Region Westösterreich Tirol Innsbruck Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 721 821,20 Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all UNIVERSITAET INNSBRUCK Austria Net EU contribution € 721 821,20 Address INNRAIN 52 6020 Innsbruck See on map Region Westösterreich Tirol Innsbruck Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 721 821,20 FORSCHUNGSVERBUND BERLIN EV Germany Net EU contribution € 765 349,80 Address RUDOWER CHAUSSEE 17 12489 Berlin See on map Region Berlin Berlin Berlin Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 765 349,80
