GREENCYCLESII
T3.7 Function and biogeochemical cycling in extra-tropical terrestrial ecosystems
The University of Exeter, through its Climate Change and Sustainable Futures initiative, is at the leading edge of interdisciplinary research into climate change. A particular focus is on modelling interactions between the terrestrial carbon cycle and climate change using the JULES land-surface model.
Under GREENCYCLESII (GCII), the University of Exeter will participate in the work package to improve constraints on terrestrial ecosystem processes through targeted model evaluation. Extensive use will be made of the new observational datasets derived elsewhere in GCII. This activity will be led by Professors Peter Cox and Pierre Friedlingstein in close collaboration with Chris Jones at the Met Office Hadley Centre.
The Early Stage Researcher (ESR) will evaluate existing and develop new algorithms for coupled vegetation and soil nitrogen cycling in extra-tropical ecosystems. The general focus will be the assessment of the roles of nitrogen cycling for ecosystem structure and function, under present and future environmental conditions, and will quantify relevant feedbacks within the climate system. The project will exploit existing functionality in the well-established JULES model, including the Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen Model (FUN) and ECOSSE, and the Hadley Centre's flagship climate model, HadGEM2-ES, and the Ecosystem Demography dynamic vegetation model.
The successful candidate will first conduct a literature review, evaluate the existing, and develop new, algorithms to explore questions such as the role of nitrogen constraints and plant-fungi symbiosis for ecosystem structure and function, including C storage; and competition between microbes and plants for N deposition.. Available field manipulation and forest structure data will be synthesized and simulated ecosystem dynamics will be evaluated at both site and regional scales. Evaluation of simulated vegetation growth against forest inventory data will be undertaken with Microsoft Research Ltd, UK, as well as with the world leading ecosystem experts at the University of Exeter.
For the purposes of qualifying for a PhD, this ESR will be registered as a student at the University of Exeter, but the position will also involve spending periods working at the Met Office in Exeter plus a three month secondment at Microsoft Research, Cambridge.