Descripción del proyecto
Un análisis más detallado de la descomposición de la madera y los flujos de carbono
Los bosques desempeñan un papel fundamental en el ciclo del carbono y albergan una proporción sustancial de la biodiversidad terrestre. Sin embargo, el cambio climático y el cambio de uso del suelo están alterando la biodiversidad y el ciclo del carbono. Por ejemplo, el aumento de las temperaturas incrementa la tasa de descomposición y, por lo tanto, los flujos de carbono. Sin embargo, se espera que suceda justo lo contrario tras la pérdida de biodiversidad de los organismos descomponedores resultante del aumento de la intensidad del uso del suelo. En el proyecto BIOCOMP, financiado con fondos europeos, se estudiará exactamente la manera en que el cambio climático y el uso del suelo influyen de forma interactiva en las comunidades de descomponedores, la tasa de descomposición y los flujos de carbono procedentes de la descomposición de la madera. Su equipo cuantificará los cambios en la biodiversidad de descomponedores y la tasa de descomposición a través de experimentos en el campo y en cámaras climáticas accesibles.
Objetivo
Forests play a central role for global carbon cycling and biodiversity. Yet, the unabated continuation of climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressure on forest resources are altering forest ecosystems by modifying species composition and ecosystem processes. Increasing temperatures are likely to increase decomposition rates and thus carbon emissions, while the opposite effect may be expected from loss of decomposer biodiversity as land-use intensity increases. However, it remains unknown how climate change and land use interactively shape decomposer communities, decomposition rates and carbon fluxes. This limits the ability to model the future of the global forest carbon sink as well as of forest policy and management to counteract undesired developments. Here, I will investigate the joint effects of climate change and land use on decomposer communities and carbon fluxes from wood decomposition at the global scale, as well as the underlying processes and mechanisms. Making use of an operating network of 60 research sites on six continents, I will study how biodiversity-decomposition relationships and effects of land use change along global climate gradients. Empirical results will be used to model carbon fluxes from wood decomposition at the global scale and to generate projections of carbon fluxes under different scenarios of forest use and climate change. Extensive experiments will be conducted both in the field and in walk-in climate chambers to identify which facet of biodiversity drives wood decomposition and to unravel the mechanisms behind the climate-dependency of biodiversity-decomposition relationships. The BIOCOMP project will bring about a new level of understanding of how biodiversity and carbon cycling in forest ecosystems worldwide will change as a result of climate change and land use, and it will provide the data and strategies to tackle one of the most pressing challenges of current climate and forest policy.
Ámbito científico
- agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestrysilviculture
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencessoil sciencesland-based treatment
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
Programa(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régimen de financiación
ERC - Support for frontier research (ERC)Institución de acogida
01069 Dresden
Alemania