Ecosystem Science

The Ecosystem Science Group conducts fundamental research to develop an understanding of mechanisms of terrestrial response to environmental change at multiple scales for the projection of the fate and function of terrestrial biomes in the future.

The Ecosystem Science Group conducts research to understand and predict environmental change impacts on carbon, water and nutrient cycles of terrestrial ecosystems and their feedbacks to climate and how changes in ecosystem structure and land use alter those biogeochemical feedbacks. It designs, constructs and operates targeted, large-scale, field experiments to predict vulnerability of terrestrial ecological systems to projected changes in climate and atmospheric composition and how those responses might alter both the delivery of ecosystem goods anCumulative Effects of Decadal CO2 Enrichment on Forest Soil Microbial Processes and Communitiesd services and the feedbacks from ecosystems to the atmosphere and climate. It also establishes measurements and experiments to obtain the knowledge required to reduce or eliminate critical uncertainties, and to identify and fill gaps in the representation of fundamental processes within existing ecological model at multiple scales.

Ecosystem Simulation Science advanced by our group organizes and extrapolates process understanding of ecological mechanisms for regional analysis and prognostic calculation of global terrestrialĀ  biome functions