Developing Process-Level Understanding of Controls on Belowground Carbon and Nutrient Dynamics in Tundra Ecosystems

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Researchers will examine the role of climate factors on the carbon and nutrient uptake by tundra root systems in the Arctic. Isotopic tracers will be added to existing long-term plots to examine the flow of carbon through root systems and into the soil through several growing seasons. The production of roots and the fate of root-derived inputs to soils is not understood sufficiently well in the Arctic to enable predictions of the effects of global warming on the uptake/release of greenhouse gases. This project will determine C-N interactions as a function of climate, assess the effects of climate change, examine the controls on the fate of root carbon, and develop a model to predict carbon distribution and export in Arctic tundra ecosystems. The results from this project will be incorporated in regional scale models that are used to predict ecosystem and landscape responses to climate change.