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Tropical Peatlands and the Carbon Cycle

Descripción del proyecto

Las turberas tropicales y el cambio climático

Las turberas tropicales son humedales formados principalmente por materia orgánica muerta de plantas y almacenan una cantidad considerable de carbono. El proyecto financiado con fondos europeos TroPeaCC se propone mejorar de forma radical nuestra comprensión del ciclo del carbono en las turberas tropicales y elaborar previsiones de la respuesta de estas al cambio climático. Los expertos aprovecharán su extraordinaria experiencia para combinar observaciones y modelización de turberas con el fin de aplicar un novedoso enfoque interdisciplinar a cuestiones clave como la potencia del sumidero de carbono o la fuente del metano en estos ecosistemas. Las conclusiones del estudio permitirán tomar decisiones de gestión más informadas para optimizar el suministro de diversos servicios ecosistémicos.

Objetivo

Tropical peatlands are the most carbon-dense ecosystems in the world and they store the equivalent of ~10 years of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Despite their importance, crucial questions remain about carbon cycling in tropical peatlands and improving understanding is critical as they are at high risk from climate change and drainage for oil palm cultivation.

TroPeaCC will provide a step-change gain in our understanding of tropical peatland functioning and in projecting their response to climate change. PI Gallego-Sala will use her unique background that bridges peatland modelling and observations to deliver a novel interdisciplinary approach to tackle four outstanding questions about tropical peatlands:
Q1: What controls the geographical distribution of peatlands in the tropics? TASK1: To assess the tropical peatland extent using a combination of models
Q2: How large is the tropical peatland CO2 sink and what are its main climatic drivers? TASK2: To characterize the drivers of carbon accumulation rates in tropical peatlands using the palaeo-archive.
Q3: How large is the methane flux in tropical peatlands? What are the main controls at the intercontinental scale? TASK3: To determine the main controls on methane fluxes in tropical peatlands, using eddy covariance, chamber-based gas flux measurements, and ground penetrating radar.
Q4: What is the overall carbon balance of tropical peatlands and how will this change in the future? TASK4: To forecast future changes of the extent of tropical peatlands, of the carbon sink and of methane emissions, using the results of Tasks 1-3 to parameterise and evaluate a global dynamic vegetation model that includes tropical peatlands for the first time.

The interdisciplinary approach will lead to a comprehensive understanding of the role of tropical peatlands in the global carbon cycle, allowing their inclusion in earth system models, and informing management decisions to optimise provision of multiple ecosystem services.

Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS clasifica los proyectos con EuroSciVoc, una taxonomía plurilingüe de ámbitos científicos, mediante un proceso semiautomático basado en técnicas de procesamiento del lenguaje natural.

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Régimen de financiación

ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant

Institución de acogida

THE UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Aportación neta de la UEn
€ 2 275 494,00
Dirección
THE QUEEN'S DRIVE NORTHCOTE HOUSE
EX4 4QJ Exeter
Reino Unido

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Tipo de actividad
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Enlaces
Coste total
€ 2 537 994,00

Beneficiarios (2)