Breaking down the effect of UV light on litter decomposition; a study of carbon cycling along a tropical forest humidity gradient

热带森林储存和循环了大量的碳。它们只占地球陆地面积的12%，但储存了陆地碳的25-40%，而占陆地净初级生产力总量的30%左右。由于全球变化，许多热带森林变得更加干燥和温暖，了解它们将如何应对这些变化已经变得至关重要。凋落物分解可能是了解其中一些知识的关键，因为它构成了最大的碳通量之一，而其主要驱动因素现在被认为容易受到全球变化的影响。了解气候、光照和分解之间的相互作用对于改进气候模型和预测热带森林生物地球化学循环如何响应全球变化至关重要。在此，我们提出了一种新的研究方法，将热带森林湿度梯度的观测研究与对照普通花园和生长室实验相结合。利用先进的分析技术，我们的目标是准确地确定气候是如何介导热带森林凋落物分解的，并估计它对全球碳循环的贡献程度。多学科培训计划是该课程的核心，候选人将发展一系列实验和观察生态方法的技能，以及实验室技术和先进的统计分析和建模。由于这个项目有可能导致一些高影响力的出版物，这将是一个发展研究事业的难得机会。该奖学金的所有实地组成部分将在巴拿马的史密森尼热带研究所（STRI）进行并与之合作，并在班戈大学对凋落物样本进行额外的对照实验和专门的实验室分析。

Tropical forests store and cycle impressive amounts of carbon. They only comprise of 12% of our planet's land surface area, but store 25-40% of the terrestrial carbon, while accounting for about 30% of the total terrestrial net primary productivity. With many tropical forests becoming both drier and warmer due to global change, it has become fundamental to understand how they will respond to such changes. Litter decomposition may hold the key to some of this knowledge, as it constitutes one of the largest carbon fluxes, while its main drivers now thought to be vulnerable to global change. Understanding interactions between climate, light and decomposition is crucial to improve climate-models, and predict how tropical forest biogeochemical cycles will respond to global change.Here we propose a novel research approach combining observational studies along a tropical forest humidity gradient, with controlled common garden and growth chamber experiments. Using advanced analytical techniques, we aim to accurately determine how climate mediates litter decomposition in tropical forests and estimate to what extent it contributes to global carbon-cycling.A multidisciplinary training programme is central to this studentship and the candidate will develop skills in a range of experimental and observational ecological methods, as well as laboratory techniques and advanced statistical analyses and modelling. As this project has the potential to lead several high impact publications it will be a formidable opportunity to develop a research career. All field components of this studentship will be carried out at and in collaboration with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, with additional controlled experiments and specialised laboratory analyses of litter samples at Bangor University.