The processes affecting carbon sequestration, nutrient and carbon cycling, hydrology and decomposition are poorly understood, especially below ground. We are using the tools of physiological ecology and root biology to better understand ecosystem processes. Studies include

• Effects of tree species on ecosystem properties (common garden in south central Poland)
• Effects of nitrogen saturation on belowground processes (larch and ash forest plantations near Harbin, China)
• Effects of grazing and warming on C and nurtrient cycles (Arctic tundra in Greenland)

Specific questions include:

1. How is calcium acquired and cycled?
2. How does root decomposition vary among species and what factors control it?
3. What are the relative rates of decomposition of root-derived and leaf-derived soil carbon?
4. What is the role of tissue N concentration on root lifespan?
5. How do grazing and warming impact plant productivity and carbon and nutrient cycling in the Arctic?
6. What are the links of leaf and root traits to ecosystem structure and function?

Examining a minirhizotron in a forest plantation in China with Jori Sharda (PhD candidate in BIOS) and Zhengquan Wang
Jenny Edwards and Dave Eissenstat in Poland mapping roots on the wall of a soil pit