Herbivorous Effects on Carbon Cycling

Description

Understanding the carbon cycle is of increasing importance as climate change continues to progress. Current and future warming will complicate this understanding as the carbon cycle continues to adapt to altered conditions. The ultimate fate of soil carbon, where the majority of carbon is stored in terrestrial ecosystems, is of a particular concern. This research will continue the global effort of describing how the carbon cycle may change under altered herbivory levels. Herbivory is an important but often overlooked component of the carbon cycle. The presence or absence of herbivores can alter carbon fluxes between the atmosphere and soil. Herbivores can determine if soils will become a net source or sink for CO2 through interactions with plants and soil microbes and thereby affect our efforts at modeling future climate conditions. This study will investigate the effects of herbivores along an elevational gradient on soil respiration and possible mechanisms by which this may occur. Research undertaken at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory will contribute to a growing network of data collected from mountainous research areas around the world including New Zealand, Tasmania, and Argentina.