Carbon and Energy Flow and Plant Community Response to Climate Change in Peatlands

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9707426 Bridgham The aims of this research are to investigate interactions between plant community composition, whole-ecosystem C budgets, and energy balance in northern peatlands. The central hypothesis of the research is that climate forcing of heat loading and water table depth will determine plant community and ecosystem structure, which in turn will have a feedback effect on the energy budget of the system. The research plan involves a continuation of ongoing research in a unique series of whole-system microcosm experiments that include manipulations of temperature and water regimes. Processes to measured include the major carbon, water and energy fluxes, which will be incorporated into an ecosystem simulation model. Understanding the feedbacks and interactions among the processes to be studied are a high priority not only in the arena of global change but also in the broader arena of biodiversity/community structure effects on ecosystem functions. The site of the research is in northern Minnesota.