Harvard Forest Research

Measurement of the O2-CO2 stoichiometry of a terrestrial ecosystem

Principal Investigator: Mark Battle
Bowdoin College: Jul 01 2005 - May 01 2010:

Abstract:
The major goal of this project is to measure the O2:CO2 exchange ratio that results from biological activity in a terrestrial ecosystem. Commercially available O2 and CO2 analyzers will be installed at the Harvard Forest Environmental Monitoring Station to obtain a multi-year record of the covariation of these species. This record, along with eddy-flux data collected from instruments already operating at the Station, will allow determination of the O2:CO2 exchange ratio. The record will extend over multiple growing seasons, thereby providing insight into the temporal variability of the ratio. Supporting data from the numerous ecosystem studies underway at Harvard Forest will be used to develop a mechanistic understanding of the controls on this ratio. Knowing these controls will reveal the applicability of the Harvard Forest measurements to other ecosystems.

Furthermore, the O2:CO2 exchange ratio depends on a complicated coupling of the carbon and nitrogen cycles as well as environmental variables. Thus, a multi-year record of the ratio, taken in a data-rich setting, has the potential to reveal much about the dynamics of these cycles and the ecosystem in which they occur.
: