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Water and carbon dynamics of coastal plain wetlandscapes

Active Dates 9/1/2023-8/31/2026
Program Area Environmental Systems Science
Project Description
Predicting and adjusting the dynamics of the carbon (C) cycle at landscape scales is foundational to climate change mitigation and avoidance.  Water storage (in soils and wetlands) and export (in streams and groundwater) is the core control on landscape C dynamics, influencing both ecosystem production as well as pathways of C storage and losses to the air and water.  This project is focused on understanding the role of hydrological variability, which influences when and how much water is stored and released from the landscape, on C dynamics.  We are especially interested in understanding how hydrological variability impacts the storage vs. loss of C, and the relative importance of lateral (stream) vs. vertical (atmosphere) pathways of C loss. We adopt a variety of tools, including experiments in the field and laboratory, detailed measurements of landscape hydrology and C fluxes, and models that allows us to both synthesize measurements and guide new ones, to understand C dynamics in wetland-rich landscapes of the US Southeastern Coastal Plain.  Our project will develop new understanding of how the terrestrial-aquatic interface (TAI; where the land and water meet) shifts in both space and time, and the role of that variation in controlling local processes of C storage and loss.  This understanding will allow us to better quantify and predict the aggregate water and C functions of landscapes comprised of mosaics of uplands, wetlands, and streams.  Our goal is to both develop a new fundamental understanding on how, when, and where C is stored, and how C exports are partitioned between atmospheric and stream pathways. We will apply that new understanding into improved representation of TAI dynamics in mosaic landscapes within Earth systems models.
Award Recipient(s)
  • University of Florida Gainesville (PI: Cohen, Matthew)