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 biodiversity. Yet, the unabated continuation of climate change and increasing anthropogenic pressure on forest resources are altering forest ecosystems by modifying species composition and ecosystem processes. However, it remains unknown how climate and land use interactively shape decomposer communities, decomposition rates, and carbon fluxes. To investigate the joint effects of climate and land use on decomposer communities and carbon fluxes from wood decomposition at the global scale, plot pairs representing a contrast in forest management along a global climate gradient were selected in 47 partner countries. At each plot, the biodiversity of insects, fungi, and bacteria was assessed, and decomposition rates of experimental deadwood were measured over two years. Based on these data, global biodiversity patterns of decomposer communities, decomposition rates, and the impacts of land use and climate will be determined. Results will be used to model carbon fluxes from wood decomposition at the global scale, considering not only climate but also forest management, and to generate projections of carbon fluxes under different scenarios of forest use and climate change. As a partner in this project, we conduct surveys in the Kızılcahamam forests, north of Ankara. We are also participating in the SafeNET project, an extension of BIOCOMP, in which we compare the bird and large mammal diversity of protected versus managed forests using sound recorders and camera traps. Didem Ambarlı is responsible for the research in Ankara. Several lab members and volunteer students participate in fieldwork and lab work. The team is collaborating with Assoc. Prof. Hüseyin Ambarlı on wildlife research and with Prof. Dr. Emre Keskin at Ankara University on DNA metabarcoding.
Please use the link for the project website for more information: https://tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/forst/forstbotanik/zoologie/projekte/forschungsprojekte/details-forschungsprojekte/biocomp-consequences-of-global-biodiversity-loss-and-climate-change-for-decomposer-communities-and-implications-for-forest-carbon-fluxes?set_language=en