Research Initiation Grant: Bacterial Respiration of Terrestrial Carbon in Freshwater Systems: Implications for the Terrestrial C Budget

陆地和水生生态系统之间的碳交换是全球碳循环的重要组成部分。 陆地碳从陆地向水的移动意味着前者的碳损失和后者的碳收益，在确定这两个系统的净碳平衡时必须考虑到这些变化。 在大多数陆地碳循环研究中，这种损失的程度尚未确定，可能导致对陆地系统中碳储存的高估。 如果进入水生系统的碳最终被呼吸，或者流失到大气中，那么这在区域和全球碳循环的计算中可能是一个严重的错误。 该项目的具体目标是确定来自马萨诸塞州森林的陆地来源碳的年龄，以及这种碳在季节和年度周期内在邻近水生系统中的后续代谢命运。 一个多学科的方法将采用各种生物化学和分析技术，以确定土壤碳的年龄和命运。 这项研究将对决策者和管理者有重要意义，他们有兴趣最大限度地提高特定地区的净碳储存。 外联工作将侧重于内陆生态系统与下游河口和沿海地区之间的连通性概念。 重点将是改善K-12教育课程中水生生态学概念和主题的覆盖面。 主要研究人员与弗吉尼亚州数学和科学中心合作。 由一名高中生物学或地球科学教师和四名十年级学生组成的三个师生小组将参加为期两周的实地研究所，以教育和提供研究经验，优先考虑来自代表性不足群体的学生。

The exchange of carbon between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is a critical component of the global carbon cycle. Movement of terrestrial carbon from land to water represents a loss of carbon from the former and a gain for the latter, and these changes must be taken into account when determining the net carbon balance of either system. In most terrestrial carbon cycle studies, the magnitude of this loss has not been determined, possibly resulting in an over-estimation of carbon storage in the terrestrial system. If the carbon that enters the aquatic system is eventually respired, or lost to the atmosphere, then this is a potentially serious error in calculations of regional and global carbon cycling. The specific goal of this project is to determine the age of terrestrially-derived carbon from forests in Massachusetts and the subsequent metabolic fate of this carbon in adjacent aquatic systems over seasonal and annual cycles. A multi-disciplinary approach will employ a variety of biochemical and analytical techniques to determine the age and fate of soil carbon. The research will have important implications for decision makes and managers who are interested in maximizing net carbon storage within particular regions. Outreach efforts will focus on the concept of connectivity between inland ecosystems and downstream estuaries and the coastal zone. The focus will be on improving the coverage of concepts and topics in aquatic ecology in curricula for K-12 education. The principle investigator is partnered with the Math and Science Center of Virginia. Three teacher-student teams consisting of one high school biology or earth science teacher and four 10th grade students, with priority given to students from under-represented groups, will participate in a two-week, field-oriented institute to educate and provide research experiences.