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

研究人员将研究气候因素对北极苔原根系吸收碳和养分的作用。同位素示踪剂将被添加到现有的长期地块，以检查碳通过根系的流动，并通过几个生长季节进入土壤。 在北极地区，人们对根的产生和根产生的投入物对土壤的归宿还没有充分的了解，因此无法预测全球变暖对温室气体吸收/释放的影响。 该项目将确定C-N相互作用作为气候的函数，评估气候变化的影响，研究对根碳命运的控制，并开发一个模型来预测北极苔原生态系统的碳分布和输出。 该项目的结果将纳入区域尺度模型，用于预测生态系统和景观对气候变化的反应。

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.