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SUMMARY:Novel Disturbance Regimes in Drylands: Implications for Carbon and
  Nitrogen Cycling  - Courtney Currier (Pellegrini Lab Group\, DPS)
DTSTART:20250206T121500Z
DTEND:20250206T134500Z
UID:TALK225925@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:115405
DESCRIPTION:*Abstract* Drylands are water-limited ecosystems that cover al
 most half the world’s terrestrial surface\, store about as much carbon i
 n their topsoil as live forest plants globally\, and are home to over one 
 third of the world’s human population. These ecosystems are transforming
  in the public eye from “post-apocalyptic wastelands” to potentially k
 ey players for climate change mitigation. Yet climate extremes in drylands
 \, like drought and flooding\, and changes to natural disturbance regimes\
 , like fire\, result in highly variable responses that challenge typical p
 aradigms in ecology. Join me as I discuss past and current work disentangl
 ing global change drivers on dryland ecosystem biogeochemistry through lon
 g-term field experiments.  \n\nThe first part of my talk will explore how 
 the nitrogen cycle acclimates to precipitation extremes in a semi-arid gra
 ssland\, shedding light on the limitations and assumptions of space-for-ti
 me substitutions often used in global change studies. In the second part\,
  I will present ongoing work with Professor Adam Pellegrini in the Departm
 ent of Plant Sciences on fire manipulation experiments spanning seven dryl
 and sites. Fire challenges ecological assumptions that disturbances typica
 lly reduce soil organic C. Frequent fires do not always lead to higher car
 bon losses\, and fire suppression does not always lead to long-term carbon
  gains. We aim to unravel the mechanisms driving these variable responses 
 and implications for fire management as an impactful nature-based climate 
 solution. \n\n*Please note the seminars are for University Of Cambridge me
 mbers ONLY.*
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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