Objective
Human actions are causing (1) declines in biodiversity, (2) increases in atmospheric CO2 and (3) increases in N deposition. The interactive effects of these factors and their consequences on ecosystem processes are unknown, though they play a critical role in global soil C storage dynamics. Recent data from well-replicated, long-term studies on the effects of plant diversity on both ecosystem productivity and carbon sequestration show that enhanced biomass accumulation is positively related to plant diversity. Moreover, preliminary work suggests that plant species composition may be as important as species diversity in affecting soil C sequestration. Finally, biotic factors such as herbivory through indirect effects on plant roots, affect long-term fate of C and below-ground processes. Hence, the present project aims to address the effects of (1) plant diversity, (2) plant community composition, (3) N deposition, and (4) herbivory on soil C storage dynamics. The study will make use of a well-replicated, long-term study design that has been established in 1994 at Cedar Creek, Minnesota, US, as well as glasshouse experiments using isotopic techniques in the UK. Soil and plant material will be measured for C and N. Data on plant productivity, N mineralization rat es, C:N ratios, and nitrogen use efficiency will be collected according to different treatments. The research project is the first, to our knowledge, to test the effects of varying biodiversity, species functional composition and N fertilization on soil C storage dynamics at the ecosystem-scale being part of a well-replicated, long-term factorial grassland biodiversity experiment. Therefore, the overall results of the study will contribute to the important ongoing scientific research, which focuses on the effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems, with a particular bias towards those mechanisms involved in the global C storage dynamics.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture industrial crops fodder
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture grains and oilseeds legumes
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP6-2004-MOBILITY-6
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
OIF - Marie Curie actions-Outgoing International Fellowships
Coordinator
LANCASTER
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.