Exploring the ecological drivers of terrestrial carbon cycling

The Department of Natural Resource Sciences invites you to a Special Seminar by Tom Crowther, Marie Curie Fellow, Netherlands Institute of Ecology

The balance of carbon between the biosphere and atmosphere is a prominent determinant of atmospheric carbon concentrations and the climate. Dr Crowther works across a full range of spatial scales to estimate how climate change will influence this balance at a global scale. The goal of this research is to identify the key ecological processes that govern this balance, in order to constrain the global biogeochemical models that project carbon cycling under current and future climate scenarios. Specifically, he focuses on generating a mechanistic understanding of the functional biogeography of soil fungi (which influence the release of carbon from the soil) and forest trees (which influence carbon uptake from the atmosphere) in order to improve our understanding of how terrestrial ecosystems will respond - and feed back - to global change.