Day in the Lab

A couple of pictures I took today of different activities going on in the lab. The first is a visiting scientist working with Youping on lipid extractions. The second is a Master's student studying methane oxidation in sediments (we are using labeled methane and then tracing the respired CO2 over time)

Lipid extraction from plant leaves:

and

Methane oxidation in soils exposed to copper:

Newly Funded Project

 Landscape-scale biodiversity and the balancing of provisioning, regulating, and supporting ecosystem services (BASIL)

This project is funded through a highly competitive European call (BiodivERsA/FACCE-JPI) that addresses the supporting role of biodiversity in agricultural production systems within the context of global change.

This project is a collaboration between 4 German partners (ZALF, FU, U. Potsdam, U. Göttingen), 2 Spanish partners (Spanish National Research Council, U. Lleida), 1 French partner (INRA) and 1 Swiss partner (WSL).

The project is ambitious in scope as we will try to join the links between biodiversity and agroecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. 

Graphic of the project structure (© K. Pirhofer-Walzl)

To fulfill this goal we will investigate extensively and intensively managed agricultural landscapes and quantify differences  in their provisioning (e.g. food, fiber, fuel), regulating (e.g. pest control, soil retention, habitat for beneficial soil organisms) and supporting (e.g. nutrient cycles, primary production) ecosystem services. 

We will also analyze landscape traits to determine the necessary level of integration of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes that might lead to improved economic and environmental sustainability. 

I plan on using isotopes to help quantify the important belowground and aquatic processes across the landscape. I hope to bring resolution to some of the mechanisms we may find in the field by performing  mesocosm and pot experiments.

Controlled plant-soil experiment within a climate chamber.

We also address national policy and governance that have significant impacts on environmental and economic sustainability. We would like to know how these policies direct agricultural landscape management.