MANAGING GRASSLAND DIVERSITY TO ENHANCE SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION

(BBSRC 2006-2009):

The issue of soil C storage is high on the political and scientific agenda, largely due to growing interest in the extent to which soils can sequester C. This study is testing whether management aimed at enhancing botanical diversity - a major objective of agri-environment schemes - enhances the sequestration of C in grassland soils, as a result of altering C inputs to soil and their processing by the microbial community. The project is joint with Nick Ostle of CEH Lancaster and the field work is being done at Colt Park meadows, a long-term grassland diversity restoration experiment in the Yorkshire Dales.

DIVERSIFICATION OF GRASSLAND THROUGH MANIPULATION OF PLANT-SOIL INTERACTIONS: THE DIGFOR EXPERIMENT

(DEFRA 2004-2009):

A key requirement for restoration of botanical diversity in grassland is the enhancement of efficient soil nutrient recycling and the development of plant-microbial associations that positively influence plant diversity. This study, which involved a consortium of scientists from IGER and the Universities of Lancaster, Newcastle and Reading, aims to provide a better understanding of the role of plant-soil associations in agri-environment schemes aimed at restoring grassland diversity.

CHALLENGING THE PARADIGM OF PLANT-MICROBIAL RESOURCE PARTITIONING IN ANTARCTIC ECOSYSTEMS

(NERC 2008-2010):

The Antarctic is a uniquely important 'natural laboratory' for examining ecosystem responses to climate change, and it is vital that the biological changes being observed there are properly understood. This project, which is led by Davey Jones of Bangor University, aims to develop novel experimental and modeling techniques to find out the importance in Antarctic soils of specific forms of nitrogen. In addition, it aims to find out whether global warming will alter the nitrogen dynamics of Antarctic soils. Other collaborators on this project are David Hopkins of SCRI and Kevin Newsham of BAS.

EFFECTS OF HERBIVORE BROWSING ON CARBON DYNAMICS IN REGENERATING NATIVE FORESTS

(NERC 2007-2010):

This study aims to explore factors that regulate ecosystem carbon cycling in regenerating natural forest, with a focus on testing how browsing by large herbivores influences tree seedling growth and belowground properties related to C cycling and storage, including autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration from soil. This study is jointly funded with Macaulay Research Institute, Aberdeen, and involves field experiments in the Scottish Highlands.

EFFECT OF GRAZERS ON ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION

(funded by various sources):

A key theme of our research for several years has been the study of how grazing animals influence the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems, with a focus on soil biological properties and nutrient dynamics. Much of this work has been done in mountain grasslands that are grazed by sheep, but more recently we have been studying effects deer browsing in native forest ecosystems in the Scottish Highlands and reindeer in the high arctic. We recently started a new project exploring the consequences of large scale re-wilding and removal of grazing for  ecosystem carbon cycling, using a re-wilding experiment at Ingleborough National Nature Reserve in the Yorkshire Dales.

SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IN GLACIER FORELANDS

(NERC and various sources 2001-present):

Glacier forelands provide a unique type of field laboratory for the study of soil development and patterns and mechanisms of succession in biological communities. In this study, we have been exploring patterns of soil organic matter development and associated changes in the soil microbial community along a 150-year chronosequence at the Ödenwinkelkees glacier, Austrian Alps. The project is joint with Andreas Richter and Wolfgang Wanek of the University of Vienna, Mark Garnett of the NERC Radiocarbon Laboratory, Roland Bol of IGER, Rupert Bäumler of University of Erlangen, Germany, and David Manning of Newcastle University.

GLOBAL PATTERNS OF SOIL BIODIVERSITY

(NSF 2002-present):

Developing an understanding of global patterns of biodiversity is one of the most significant objectives for ecologists and biogeographers. This project aims to test for global patterns of distribution of soil faunal species to test whether hotspots of soil biodiversity at both regional and local scales are associated with high ecosystem process rates. The project is led by Diana Wall, NREL, Colorado, with Jim Garey of Florida University and Ed Ayres, NREL. Twelve global sites on a latitudinal gradient are being sampled, allowing within-continent and cross-continent comparisons of aboveground hot- and coldspots.

Read more

THE ROLE OF SEABIRDS IN ORCHESTRATING ISLAND FOOD WEBS

(funded by NERC 2002-present):

Seabirds subsidize terrestrial ecosystems with nutrients, but especially N due to NH3 emission from their cliff colonies which decline rapidly with increasing distance from seabird colonies. This decline in NH3 concentration produces a natural gradient of N deposition and hence fertilisation of soil, thereby impacting on the structure and productivity of the terrestrial community. This project is examining the importance of such fertilisation effects of seabirds in orchestrating the structure and productivity of terrestrial island food web. This work is being done on the Isle of May, North East Scotland, and is joint with Rene van der Wal, Aberdeen University and Sarah Wanless, CEH.

SOILSERVICE

(EU 7th Framework)

Brings together natural scientists and economists in in order to understand how human-induced competition for land use influences soil biodiversity, sustainable provision of ecosystem goods and ecosystem services. The main objective of SOILSERVICE is to understand how economic production drivers will change current and future use of soil-related ecosystem services and how they affect the resilience and resistance of ecological-economic systems. This project is coordinated by Dr Katarina Hedlund of Ecology at Lund University, and involves a number of partners from The Netherlands, Finland, Denmark, Greece and the UK, including Lancaster.