Base de données de recherche des TNO

Régions: Inuvialuit Settlement Region

étiquettes: climate change, carbon budget, boreal forests, nitrogen, ecosystem model

Objectif(s): To understand the extent to which nutrients will limit forest growth and terrestrial carbon sequestration in Canadian boreal forests and to improve how this is represented in climate change models. Specifically, this research will characterise the degree of nutrient limitation of forest growth across the Canadian boreal forest at the southern and northern limits, focusing on nitrogen, an essential limiting nutrient to forest growth.

Description du projet: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No. 5951. The overarching objective of this research is to understand the extent to which nutrients will limit forest growth and terrestrial carbon sequestration in Canadian boreal forests and to improve how this is represented in climate change models. These climate change models can then be used to understand the impacts of climate change on Canadian boreal forests over the 21st century. This is an important knowledge gap both for our understanding of Canadian boreal forests and for climate change projections. Specifically, this research will characterise the degree of nutrient limitation of forest growth across the Canadian boreal forest at the southern and northern limits, focusing on nitrogen, an essential limiting nutrient to forest growth. The research team will use this information to improve the representation of nutrient cycling in the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) climate change model. It will then use the ECCC climate change model to understand how climate change will impact Canadian boreal forests and how this in turn will feed back to climate change itself over the 21st century. This work will be conducted in collaboration with and will build on established research at the Trail Valley Creek and Havikpak Creek Research Stations (Drs. Phil Marsh and Oliver Sonnentag). The research will be conducted at the Trail Valley Creek and Havikpak Creek Research Stations. The research team will take small samples of tree leaf and tree stem (< 5g), focusing on black spruce and green alder. It will also take small samples of soils adjacent to these trees (< 5g). The carbon and nitrogen contents of these samples will then be measured along with photosynthesis rates, growth rates, and soil decomposition rates. These measurements will be repeated annually for 5 years (ideally, in continuity) to understand immediate climate change impacts. These measurements will also be conducted at the southern limit of the Canadian boreal forest in Saskatchewan. These data will be used to characterise the degree of nutrient limitation of forest growth as well as how it varies across a latitudinal/temperature gradient representative of Canadian boreal forests. Then, the data will be used (alongside the comprehensive biometeorological data being collected at these sites) to evaluate and improve the ECCC climate change model. More detailed information is given in the Supporting Documentation. The team will build on the communication avenues established by researchers at the Trail Valley Creek and Havikpak Creek Research Stations. In July/August 2024, the principal investigator intends to introduce himself and build connections with communities. This visit will seek insight and expertise from community members, including on what knowledge deliverables are wanted and how these knowledge deliverables should be shared. At minimum, the research team intends to write a report on research findings that will be shared directly with communities on an annual basis. The team would also like to share this research via a public lecture in the Speaker Series at Aurora Research Institute. This would include information on how this research directly relates to climate change projections for Canada’s North over the 21st century. The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from: August 01 - August 31, 2024