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Terrestrial ecosystem researcher joins 911吃瓜 Geography to study future of forests under climate change
Thomas Bytnerowicz works to advance our understanding of terrestrial ecosystems, how they respond to global change, and the factors influencing these responses. This July, he brings his research to 911吃瓜 as an assistant professor in the Department of Geography.
Terrestrial 鈥� or land 鈥� carbon sinks absorb approximately 30 per cent of all human CO2 emissions. Bytnerowicz explains that without these sinks, those emissions would be in the atmosphere, driving further climate change.
鈥淭he big question is, what does the future look like for that land carbon sink, and what is determining that?鈥� says Bytnerowicz.
Looking at how plants respond to environmental conditions, from individual trees to whole ecosystems, Bytnerowicz studies the mechanisms that sustain the global carbon sink and those that could result in it storing less carbon over time. His research scales from the physiology of individual trees to the dynamics of whole forests to global carbon and nitrogen cycling.
One key piece of that puzzle is understanding how trees will acquire nutrients in the future.
鈥淎s more CO2 ends up in the air, plants are going to need more nitrogen. The main way new nitrogen gets into ecosystems is a process called biological nitrogen fixation,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t responds to warming, to drought, to CO2, and you need to understand all those responses to be able to say anything about what's going to happen in the future.鈥�
Yet nutrient supply is only one dimension of how forests respond to a changing climate, and Bytnerowicz鈥檚 forest dynamics work examines the broader picture. Drawing on large forest inventory datasets, he observes how growth and mortality rates for different tree species and forest types change under new conditions, and why.
鈥淭rees might grow faster in some places due to global change, but does that mean those trees are going to live as long as they used to? Are they going to live shorter lives, or longer lives? That matters a lot for how quickly fixed carbon returns to the atmosphere and thus the strength of the carbon sink,鈥� says Bytnerowicz.
Understanding these dynamics helps us determine which tree species are winning and losing ground under climate change, and what processes are driving those changes.
With this information, Bytnerowicz explains that we can start answering questions about forest management under climate change, like which tree species should be planted in reforestation efforts for long-term forest resilience planning.
Bytnerowicz ties these threads together using global land models, incorporating findings from his ecophysiological experiments and forest inventory analyses to understand how nitrogen and carbon cycling are changing at larger spatial and temporal scales.
鈥淥ne of the things that is exciting about joining 911吃瓜, and the Faculty of Environment in particular, is there's a lot of groups working on related topics using a diverse range of approaches,鈥� he says. 鈥淐onnecting with all of them and developing new projects is something that I very much look forward to doing at 911吃瓜.鈥�
He鈥檚 also keen to continue to build upon his toolkit and deepen understandings of how and why forests are changing alongside students working in his lab.
鈥淢y research tends to be question-, not method-driven, and I like learning new things when I start new projects. I think that allows me to advise students using a range of approaches, but also learn new approaches with them,鈥� says Bytnerowicz.
Want to learn more about Bytnerowicz and get involved with his research? Visit