Project description DEENESFRITPL Coastal marshes and drivers of global climate change Coastal wetlands are globally important ecosystems providing valuable ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration over long timescales. These affect global carbon cycling and climate modulation. The EU-funded MarshFlux project aims to address fundamental gaps in understanding how the global cooling potential of coastal marshes will be affected by responses of biogeochemical reaction rates and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes to global change. Laboratory incubation experiments mimicking modelled global change scenarios will be conducted to constrain the effects of drivers on marsh soil biogeochemical reaction rates and GHG dynamics. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Coastal wetlands are globally important ecosystems providing valuable ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration over long timescales, affecting global carbon cycling and climate modulation. The amount of carbon sequestered, and therefore the net long-term global cooling potential of coastal marshes, however, is affected by complex biogeochemical reactions in marsh soils, which may produce and/or consume all three of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) (carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O)). The magnitude and direction of these fluxes, and whether marsh soils act as a source or sink of GHGs, is affected by a variety of environmental factors which are predicted to vary with projected global change. MarshFlux, therefore, aims to address fundamental gaps in understanding of how the global cooling potential of coastal marshes will be affected by responses of biogeochemical reaction rates and GHG fluxes to global change. The effect of multiple drivers of global change on the response of GHG fluxes and key microbial processes for the consumption and production of N2O and CH4, will be investigated using a novel combination of laboratory incubations and mesocosm experiments. Laboratory incubation experiments mimicking modelled global change scenarios will be conducted to constrain the effects of drivers on marsh soil biogeochemical reaction rates and subsequent GHG dynamics, focusing on temperature, nutrient-loading and salinity. The results of these experiments, while critical themselves, will then inform mesocosm experiments to allow for the assessment of the whole ecosystem (soil, water and vegetation) response to global change under current and predicted future conditions. This research is critical for effective management of coastal wetlands to maintain their blue carbon value under future global change. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryaliphatic compoundsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeochemistrybiogeochemistry Keywords Salt marsh greenhouse gas flux climate change land-use change global cooling potential Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2018 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2018 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM Net EU contribution € 276 498,24 Address Edgbaston B15 2TT Birmingham United Kingdom See on map Region West Midlands (England) West Midlands Birmingham 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 Other funding € 0,00 Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Partner Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. ROYAL INSTITUTION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING MCGILL UNIVERSITY Canada Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address 845 sherbrooke street west H3A0G4 Montreal See on map 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 Other funding € 164 031,36
