ADVANCING THE UNDERSTANDING OF TERRESTRIAL BIOSPHERE RESPONSES AND FEEDBACKS TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
ā
NEWTON INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP
ROYAL SOCIETY
GRANT NO: NF170082
Ā£58,500 (2017-2019)
Accurate prediction of the future behaviour of terrestrial ecosystems, their role as CO2 sinks, and thus their effects on future atmospheric CO2 concentration, requires a better understanding and more robust quantification of the environmental controls on plant carbon uptake. In this context, the aim of the project was to use a novel approach based on stable carbon isotope measurements from tree rings to reconstruct changes in the ratio of leaf-internal (ci) to ambient (ca) CO2 concentration over the industrial era; to test explicit hypotheses about the environmental controls of the ci:ca ratio during a period of steadily increasing atmospheric CO2; and thus to construct a relatively simple, but well-validated model for the environmental controls of CO2 and H2O exchanges.
Most of the goals have been reached, resulting in two publications.