Reactive nitrogen and carbon Emissions From biocrusts at different Locations of the World

Objective

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) cover up to 12% of the Earth's surface and are integral to nutrient cycling in these nutrient-deficient ecosystems because they have remarkable ability to fix atmospheric carbon and nitrogen. Recent studies have begun to recognize biocrusts as a potentially substantial source of reactive nitrogen, which can have significant consequences for the atmosphere. However, these estimations suffer from limited observations, particularly in some major biocrust-clustered zones that have been overlooked. Additionally, the emissions of reactive carbon, which also carry significant atmospheric and climatic implications, remain unexplored. Therefore, this project aims to address these gaps by pursuing the following objectives: (1) Quantify the sources of reactive nitrogen and carbon from biocrusts across various global locations, (2) Establish empirical relationships between biocrust emissions of reactive nitrogen and carbon and environmental factors, particularly under the influence of climate change, and (3) Generate improved predictions for regional and global-scale emissions of reactive nitrogen and carbon by integrating them into the existing modeling framework. This endeavor leverages state-of-the-art online measurement techniques for atmospheric reactive gases and employs a mechanistic modeling approach, and a high degree of complementary expertise between the host (secondment) and I. Ultimately, this project promises to significantly enhance our understanding of reactive nitrogen and carbon emissions from biocrusts on a global scale and provide a reliable foundation for assessing their atmospheric and climatic implications.