Eric Davidson, Kathleen Savage

Woods Hole Research Center

Primary Interests:

Biogeochemistry (particularly N and C), soil microorganisms

HWA Objectives:

Our interest in this project focuses on the change in the carbon released through soil respiration. As the hemlock stands die due to HWA infestation the balance between the components of soil respiration (root respiration and microbial respiration) will shift. With the proposed girdling experiment we can see how soil respiration rates change as the hemlocks die out. This will also give us insight into how to partition between the components of soil respiration- root and microbial respiration as we could assume that predominantly microbial respiration is taking place in the girdled plots. We will also look at the C14 signatures from the girdled experiment and compare those to the control stand which will help determine the age of the carbon being respired.