Carbon sequestration consequences of spruce budworm outbreaks and control in eastern Canadian forests

加拿大东部森林云杉芽虫爆发和控制的碳封存后果

• 批准号: 536167-2018
• 负责人: Heard, Stephen
• 金额: $ 11.09万
• 依托单位: University of New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=693858
• 关键词: Carbon; sequestration; consequences; spruce; budworm

Forests play an important role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it in soil - thuscountering the tendency for atmospheric carbon dioxide to warm our climate. We will ask how outbreaks ofspruce budworm, a major forest pest that defoliates and kills conifers over millions of hectares, alter thisprocess. In defoliated forests, dead needles and budworm feces likely provide a short-term boost in carbonflow to soils. However, in the longer term, defoliated forests are less able to remove carbon dioxide from theatmosphere, and the thinner tree canopy means warmer soils and therefore, potentially, more release of storedcarbon from the soil. We will study these effects and their interactions by comparing forest plots that havebeen defoliated by budworm with similar, nearby plots that have been protected from budworm damage byaerial spray with a biological insecticide, Btk. We will measure the fall of needles and caterpillar feces fromthe canopy to the ground, measure carbon content in soil cores, and measure the emission of carbon dioxidefrom microbes in the soil. We will also measure the abundance of "mycorrhizal" fungi - fungi that formpartnerships with tree roots and which receive carbon-containing sugars from the tree and move them into soil.Together, these measurements will help us understand how budworm outbreaks change the carbon cycle inforests, and how we can use Btk treatments to intervene to protect the carbon-storage role of the forest. Thisresearch will involve both established scientists and students in training from the University of NewBrunswick, the Canadian Forest Service, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

森林在清除大气中的二氧化碳并将其储存在土壤中，从而阻止大气中的二氧化碳使我们的气候变暖的趋势方面发挥着重要作用。我们将询问云杉芽虫的爆发是如何改变这一过程的。云杉芽虫是一种主要的森林害虫，会导致数百万公顷的针叶树落叶和死亡。在落叶的森林中，死针和budworm粪便可能会在短期内增加土壤的碳流。然而，从长远来看，落叶森林从大气中去除二氧化碳的能力较弱，而更薄的树冠意味着更温暖的土壤，因此，潜在地，更多地释放土壤中储存的碳。我们将研究这些影响及其相互作用，通过比较被budworm落叶的森林地块与附近通过空中喷洒生物杀虫剂Btk保护免受budworm伤害的相似地块。我们将测量从树冠到地面的针叶和毛虫粪便，测量土壤芯中的碳含量，测量土壤中微生物的二氧化碳排放。我们还将测量“菌根”真菌的丰度——这种真菌与树根形成伙伴关系，从树木中吸收含碳糖并将其转移到土壤中。总之，这些测量将帮助我们了解budworm爆发如何改变森林中的碳循环，以及我们如何使用Btk治疗进行干预以保护森林的碳储存作用。这项研究将包括来自新不伦瑞克省大学、加拿大林业局和加拿大农业与农业食品局的知名科学家和学生。