Science Atlantic AGS Speaker Series: Dr. Sian Kou-Giesbrecht

Dr. Sian Kou-Giesbrecht is professor in Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Dalhousie University. Her research interests are broadly in terrestrial ecosystem ecology, carbon and nitrogen cycling, global change, and terrestrial biosphere modelling and Earth system modelling.

'Fueling Forests: Nitrogen Cycling and Projecting Climate Change'

Abstract: The terrestrial biosphere currently sequesters a third of human CO2 emissions in plant and soil biomass and is known as the “terrestrial carbon sink”. However, the terrestrial carbon sink needs nutrients such as nitrogen to fuel plant growth. A major challenge for future climate change projections is resolving how much nitrogen will constrain plant growth and carbon sequestration in the future under global change. In this talk, I will explore how nitrogen cycling is represented within terrestrial biosphere models, which are used within the framework of Earth System Models to project climate change. I will also explore aspects of nitrogen cycling in forests, how it is influenced by global change, and how our empirical understanding can help improve terrestrial biosphere models and their projections of the terrestrial carbon sink and climate change.