Collaborative Research: PEATcosm: Understanding the interactions of climate, plant functional groups and carbon cycling in peatland ecosystems

该项目的目标是了解地下水位，植被和微生物的变化如何影响泥炭地的碳储存。 泥炭地是湿地，因为高水位抑制分解而积累碳。近几十年来更极端的夏季干旱导致泥炭地地下水位在仲夏大幅下降。 较低的泥炭地地下水位可能会加速泥炭分解，导致二氧化碳释放到大气中，此外，还可能导致泥炭地植物群落组成和微生物组合的变化。在这项研究中，泥炭地围隔生态系统的设施，在那里的地下水位和植物群落可以通过实验控制，将被用来评估如何地下水位和植被联合收割机影响微生物群落和碳循环的泥炭地。泥炭地代表3-5%的陆地表面，但港口12-30%的全球土壤有机碳。如果环境条件发生变化，这些大量的碳很容易释放回大气。 从拟议的工作中获得的见解将为自然资源管理提供选择，并为描述北方泥炭地面临气候变化时的植物群落、微生物动力学和碳储存或释放的生态系统模型提供信息。 此外，一个新的湿地生态学教师研究所将与密歇根理工大学科学与环境外展中心合作启动，让来自全国各地的教师了解泥炭地和其他湿地的前沿研究。

The goal of this project is to understand how changes in water table, vegetation, and microbes affect carbon storage in peatlands. Peatlands are wetlands that accumulate carbon because high water tables inhibit decomposition. More extreme summer drought in recent decades has caused large mid-summer declines in peatland water tables. Lower peatland water tables could cause carbon dioxide release to the atmosphere by accelerating peat decomposition and, in addition, cause changes in peatland plant community composition and microbial assemblages. In this study, a peatland mesocosm facility, where both water table and plant communities can be experimentally controlled, will be used to assess how water table and vegetation combine to affect microbial communities and carbon cycling in peatlands.Peatlands represent 3-5% of the land surface, but harbor 12-30% of global soil organic carbon. This large amount of carbon is vulnerable to release back to the atmosphere if environmental conditions change. Insights from the proposed work will provide options for natural resource management and inform ecosystem models describing the plant communities, microbial dynamics, and carbon storage or release within northern peatlands in the face of climate change. In addition, a new Wetland Ecology Teachers Institute will be initiated in collaboration with the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach to expose teachers from all over the nation to cutting edge research in peatlands and other wetlands.