Research
The major research questions
for SERC are:
- What are the effects and
impacts of climate change on Southeastern terrestrial ecosystems
and resources?
- What are the net carbon exchanges
in the Southeast that may affect the global carbon cycle, greenhouse
gas fluxes, and processes controlling atmospheric CO2
in the terrestrial biosphere of the Southeast?
- What are the important environmental
and socioeconomic consequences of potential climate change in
the region?
- What are the direct and indirect effects of
aerosols on earths radiation- balance?
Focus
Depending on the availabity
of funding, the Regional Center program is focused on three to four
subsets based on the four DOE Priority Topics. The program has evolved
into support of research which attempts to answer research questions
specific to the areas of effects of climate change on Southeastern
forest ecosystems and natural resources, net carbon exchanges above
and below ground in important terrestrial plant species, and economic
and social issues which can be useful in integrated assessment analysis
important in the region. Additional areas of concern include modeling
efforts that include the potential changes on water resources, disease
and pathogen increases, and impact on plant and insect species.
Research Projects
Focus Areas 1 and 2: Terrestrial Carbon - Carbon Flux Studies
and Ecological Effects of Climate Change:
- Duke
Forest Site
- Measurements and Modeling of Net Carbon Exchange
over a Southeast Loblolly Pine Plantation
- Separating Soil-Atmosphere and Canopy-Atmosphere Exchange
of CO2 by Micrometeorogical Methods
- Carbon and Nutrient Flow through Multiple Tropic Levels
in a CO2-Enriched Southern Pine Forest Community
- Florida Sites
- Isotopic Studies at AmeriFlux Sites
- Long Term Dynamics of Carbon, Water and Energy
Fluxes for Managed and Natural Pine Ecosystems
- Cross Regional Enhancement of CO2 Fluxes
at Three AmeriFlux Sites in Presence of Flow Circulations
- Changes in Leaf Chemistry, Insect
Herbivory, Leaf Abscission and Decomposition Between Ambient
and Elevated CO2
- Free Air Respiratory Carbon Isotope Enrichment Experiment
Focus Area 3: Tool Development and Testing Related to Environmental,
Economic and Social Issues:
- Integrated and Regional Analysis and Tool
Development/Testing
- Spatial Modeling
(website:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/nreos/forest/feop/ )
- Spatial
Modeling of the Ecophysiologic, Hydrologic, and Economic
Impacts of Climate Change on Southeast Forests.(Project incorporated into Chapter
5,
Chapter
6,
Chapter
17, and
Chapter
19 of the National Assessment)
- Economic Impact Analysis: Climate Change
Impacts on Southeastern U.S. Forest and Economy
- Assessing Ecological Models of Varying Complexity for Predicting
Carbon Sequestration in Managed Pine Plantations
- Coupling of PnET-III3SL and SWAT for Modeling the Combined
Effects of Forests and Agriculture on Water Availability in
Integrated Analyses of Global Climate Change
- University of Alabama engineering researchers investigate
global climate change causes and impacts. Please click on the
following link .
http://www.ua.edu/features/resairplane.html
Focus Area 4: Impact Studies on the Effect of Climate Change:
- Effects of Climate Change
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