Project description
Tracing peatland pH across 68 million years
Peatlands store about 25 % of soil carbon and are the largest natural methane source. Their carbon dynamics depend on pH, but limited long-term pH data restrict understanding of climate change impacts. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PeatCHEM project will quantify peatland pH over the past 68 million years during the Cenozoic era – a time of major climatic and evolutionary shifts. Using a unique database of over 450 lignite samples worldwide, the project will improve knowledge of peatland pH responses to environmental changes, identify key drivers of pH variation, and assess the effects of major climate events.
Objective
Peatlands play a major role in the global carbon cycle storing around 25% of all soil carbon and being the largest natural source of methane to the atmosphere. Their future carbon (and other nutrient) dynamics are poorly constrained given the many environmental and biotic variables affecting them. A crucial parameter, controlling peatlands carbon storage and methane emissions is pH, which is closely related to vegetation and microbial community dynamics. Long term pH measurements are limited to at most a few years to decades, limiting our understanding of the long-term consequences of climate change on peatland pH and hence peatland carbon cycle dynamics. The PeatCHEM project will dramatically change our understanding of the response of peatland pH to long-term environmental change. I will quantify peatland pH across the last 68 million years (Cenozoic), a period characterized by major climatic and evolutionary change, using a unique database of over >450 lignites (fossilised peat) from all over the world. Peatland pH will be quantified using two pH proxies that were recently developed at the University of Bristol based on two distinct family of lipid biomarkers: branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) and hopanes and complemented by vegetation and temperature reconstructions based on n-alkanes, triterpenoids and brGDGTs. This project will identify the main parameters controlling pH variations in peatlands and ascertain the impact of both abrupt and long-term climatic and ecological changes across the Cenozoic on peatland pH. I will constrain the response of peatlands pH to major climatic events such as the Paleocene- Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and the Eocene Oligocene transition (EOT). This project will produce an unprecedented database of peatland pH covering a large range of environmental settings that will revolutionise our understanding of the vulnerability of peatlands to climate and environmental change.
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.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology microbiomes
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules lipids
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry aliphatic compounds
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
BS8 1QU BRISTOL
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.