CAREER: Assessing the Effects of Anthropogenic N-Deposition on the Carbon Cycling of Southern Californian Semi-Arid Shrublands

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This project integrates ecological research with university graduate and undergraduate instruction to assess how inputs of atmospheric nitrogen (N) from fossil fuel emission alter the carbon (C) cycling of southern Californian semi-arid shrublands. Atmospheric N fertilization has been implicated in the decline of northern forests. However, the effects of atmospheric N fertilization on western shrublands have not been adequately quantified even though these ecosystems are exposed to some of the highest atmospheric N pollution levels in the world. This project will employ field observational and manipulative studies to assess changes in ecosystem structure and function to atmospheric N fertilization and provide a mechanistic understanding of the ecosystem response. In turn, the field studies will significantly enhance lecture and laboratory curricula in terrestrial ecology and provide students an opportunity to actively investigate the impact of human activities on the C cycling of ecosystems that are regionally important.