Multi-elemental analyser to support applied and fundamental research in plant and soil ecology / Analyseur multi-élémentaire pour la recherche en écologie des plantes et du sol

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Terrestrial ecosystems can be described by the nutrients that are cycled through their biotic and abiotic components. Accordingly, terrestrial ecology may be studied in both applied and fundamental terms by measuring the rates and amounts of different nutrients being cycled in plants and soils. For example, applied research on plant biomass feedstock production, or on the environmental benefits of agroforestry and landfill biocovers, requires information on soil nutrient availability. Likewise, fundamental ecological questions pertaining to the proximal or evolutionary causes of biodiversity, plant community structure or trophic interactions, depend on ecological stoichiometry data. The requested equipment is a highly versatile multi-elemental analyser, to support both applied and fundamental research fields in terrestrial ecology. The versatility of the proposed equipment allows the 11 co-applicants to replace two defective instruments purchased 13 years ago by a single continuous-flow multi-channel device equipped with both colorimetric and flame photometric capabilities. The proposed equipment is thus a vital tool for supporting the outstanding research programs of the co-applicants and will be used on a weekly basis. These co-applicants are currently (co)supervising 62 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, all of whom will acquire essential technical skills by using the proposed instrument while pursuing their research objectives. Furthermore, the proposed equipment will be made available to members of CEF and Centre SÈVE, two provincially-funded networks comprising 148 researchers and over 450 graduate students.