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

分解紫外线对垃圾分解的影响；

• 批准号: 2279209
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Bangor University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2279209
• 关键词: Breaking; down; effect; UV; light

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.

热带森林存储和循环令人印象深刻的碳。它们仅占我们星球地表面积的12％，但储存了25-40％的地面碳，同时约占总陆地净初级生产力的30％。由于全球变化，许多热带森林既干燥又温暖，因此了解它们将如何应对这种变化已成为基础。垃圾分解可能是其中一些知识的关键，因为它构成了最大的碳通量之一，而现在认为其主要驱动因素易受全球变化的影响。了解气候，光和分解之间的相互作用对于改善气候模型至关重要，并预测热带森林生物地球化学循环将对全球变化做出响应。在这里，我们提出了一种新的研究方法，将观察性研究沿热带森林湿度梯度结合，并通过控制的共同花园和生长室实验。使用先进的分析技术，我们旨在准确地确定气候如何介导热带森林中的垃圾分解，并估算到多大程度上有助于全球碳循环。一个多学科的培训计划是该学生资格的核心，候选人将在实验性和观察性生态学方法中发展技能，以及一系列实验性和观察性生态学方法，以及实验室技术和实验室技术和高级统计学分析。由于该项目有可能领导几个高影响力出版物，因此将是发展研究职业的强大机会。该学生资格的所有现场组成部分将与巴拿马的史密森尼热带研究所（Stri）合作进行，并在班戈大学（Bangor University）进行其他受控实验和专门的垃圾样品实验室分析。