BIOCOMP: Consequences of global biodiversity loss and climate change for decomposer communities and implications for forest carbon fluxes

Forests play a central role in global carbon cycling and support biodiversity. However, climate change and the persistent rise in anthropogenic pressure threaten the functioning of forest ecosystems through modification in the decomposition process and species composition. On the one hand, an increase in temperature due to climate change is likely to increase decomposition rates and, thereby, carbon efflux. On the other hand, intensification of land use can have the opposite effect on decomposition due to the loss of decomposer diversity. It remains yet unknown how climate and land use interact to shape decomposer communities, affect decomposition rates and alter carbon flux in the forest ecosystem. This limits the ability to model the future of the global forest carbon sink as well as of forest policy and management to counteract undesired developments.

In this project, we will investigate how decomposer biodiversity and wood decomposition rates change 1. along global climate gradients from tropical to boreal forests, and 2. between natural forests and human-impacted forests (e.g., plantation). We will also assess the relationship between decomposer biodiversity and their functions to evaluate the role of biodiversity in wood decomposition.

https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101075426

Funded under European Research Council (ERC) grant agreement 101075426