
Respiration and carbon flow in trees and soils
I study how carbon flows through trees and soils. I am particularly interested in linking processes to gas exchange measurements, especially in respiration. Gases provide us a “window” through which we can see the respiratory substrates, the active enzymes, and other reactive processes. For example, in my PhD, I developed the measurement of CO2/O2 fluxes ratio. By theory, this ratio shows which substrate fuels respiration. In practice, I found that in tree stems and soils, the ratio is often below substrate values. In the tree stems the low ratios can be explained by non-respiratory processes that consume CO2 like dark CO2 re-fixation, while in soils oxidative breakdown of macromolecules that consume O2 can explain the observations. Currently, I am exploring the use of this ratio in separating respiration of roots and mineral soil.
Another area I research is how aboveground tissues and fine roots use storage compounds. Fine roots consume a large portion of forests carbon budget. But because they are hidden belowground, we know surprisingly little about their carbon cycles. Here, I use radiocarbon measurements of different carbon pools to understand turnover rates and storage compounds use. The research is taking place in the Alpine tree line and in temperate forest.

Publications
Journal Article (6)