ICAS External Seminar

Professor Rob MacKenzie, University of Birmingham

Early results from a forest Free-Air Carbon Enrichment facility – seasons 0, 1 & 2 out of 10

Host: Martyn Chipperfield

Abstract:

The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) was set up to provide a world-class facility aimed at improving our understanding of how woodlands will respond to future increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), including effects on forest growth and resilience to external threats. This has involved building a "second-generation" Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facility, set in a mature, unmanaged, temperate woodland in Staffordshire. The experiment was switched on in April 2017, and will run until 2026, subjecting the trees to elevated CO2 concentrations of 550 parts per million (ppm) through the whole period, simulating conditions predicted for 2050. Rob will talk about the global-carbon-cycle rationale for this facility and report the results from the baseline monitoring and first two growing seasons of CO2 enrichment.

Rob MacKenzie is Professor of Atmospheric Science, with expertise in computer simulation of air quality at urban and regional scales, and the effects of vegetation on atmospheric composition. Since November 2013, Rob has been the inaugural Director of the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research.

The seminar will be followed by cake and coffee in the School foyer.