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Project

Impact of soil fertility on photosynthesis and photosynthate allocation in undisturbed primary rainforests in French Guiana.

Tropical forests are among the most diverse ecosystems in the world and account for more than one third of global primary productivity. Tropical rainforests thus play a key role in the global carbon (C) balance. Most tropical forests are phosphorus (P) rather than nitrogen (N) limited, in contrast to the much better studied temperate and boreal forests. The effects of soil fertility on C cycling in tropical rainforests is, however, still poorly understood. The aim of this study is twofold: I want to improve our understanding of photosynthesis of tropical forests and how this changes along gradients of soil N and P availability. Further, I will investigate how plant C allocation varies along these gradients. Ecosystem C allocation is very important because it determines the residence time of C in the ecosystem and thereby the CO2 removal from the atmosphere. Both processes will be studied in the lowland tropical rainforests of French Guiana. The rainforests I will study are virtually undisturbed and cover a large gradient in soil fertility, which will be even enlarged by a fertiliser addition experiment. Therefore, these forests are ideally suited to study effects of nutrient imbalances on the functioning of tropical rainforests.
Date:1 Oct 2016 →  30 Sep 2018
Keywords:TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Disciplines:Ecology, Environmental science and management, Other environmental sciences
Project type:Collaboration project