Dissertation Research: Impacts of Temperature and Precipitation on Peat-Carbon Dynamics in Alaska and Patagonia

本博士论文改进项目将研究夏季温度和降水在控制阿拉斯加和巴塔哥尼亚南部泥炭地碳平衡方面的相对重要性。 地球过去的变化？地球自转轴对北方和南半球的温度有不同的影响。 通过研究两个半球泥炭地核心过去的碳固存率，可以推断出过去气候的重要性，高纬度地区正在经历比地球上其他地方更快的变暖。 由于气候变暖会影响泥炭地有机物的产生和腐烂，目前还不清楚气候变暖将如何影响泥炭地土壤中的碳储存，而泥炭地土壤约占全球土壤碳的三分之一。 了解储存在泥炭地中的碳的命运是评估全球碳预算的关键。

This doctoral dissertation improvement project will study the relative importance of summer temperature and precipitation in controlling the carbon balance in peatlands in Alaska and southern Patagonia. Past shifts in the earth?s rotational axis have differentially affected temperatures in the northern and southern hemisphere. By examining past rates of carbon sequestration in cores from peatlands in both hemispheres the importance of past climate can be inferred.High latitude regions are experiencing warming at rates faster than elsewhere on earth. Because warming affects both the production and the decay of organic matter in peatlands, it is unclear how warming will affect carbon storage in peatland soils, which account for about one-third of soil carbon globally. Understanding the fate of carbon stored in peatlands is key to assessing the global carbon budget.