Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)

The goal of my research is to better understand the processes controlling CO 2 , water vapour, N 2 O, and CH 4 fluxes above forests and wetlands in Western Canada following disturbances. These disturbances may be further exacerbated by interannual climate variability. This research is to advance the development of technology and policy to better manage terrestrial ecosystems to increase C sequestration, minimize GHG emissions and the impacts of climate change while maximizing productivity and water use efficiency. Net ecosystem productivity (NEP), evapotranspiration (ET) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes will be measured using the eddy-covariance (EC) technique. I will also use automated and manual chamber measurements to quantify the temporal and spatial variability of soil GHG fluxes, and assess the reliability of scaling up chamber measurements to stand level. One of my aims will be to measure, over the next 3-5 years, NEP and ecosystem-scale N 2 O fluxes in a 28-yr-old Douglas-fir stand following urea fertilization in 2017, which is consistent with recommended silvicultural practices for this stand age following crown closure. In my research on the impact of mountain pine beetle infestation on BC Interior lodgepole pine stands, I will refine the 3-PG model to predict the recovery of NEP and ET at the landscape scale, and also determine the expected rise in ecosystem respiration as a result of dead trees falling at an increased rate. The main aims of my hybrid poplar (HP) research in the Aspen parkland are to determine NEP and ET of HP plantations, their sustainability with respect to precipitation, and the effect of the silvicultural practice of planting a white spruce understory in an HP plantation on NEP and ET. The objective of my research at our southern boreal Old Aspen site is to determine the impact of a severe tent caterpillar attack in the spring of 2016 on NEP and ET over the following two years. The focus of my research at our southern boreal Old Black Spruce site will be the measurement of CH 4 fluxes, which will enable us to determine whether CH 4 emissions will result in the stand becoming a net GHG source considering that it is a weak carbon sink. At an urban bog site, I will make EC-measurements of water vapour, CO 2 and CH 4 fluxes to study the progression of these fluxes as the bog undergoes restoration by rewetting. This research will provide an excellent training environment for highly qualified personnel.