Decomposition and formation of soil organic carbon compounds with
warming in boreal forests
Given the large reservoir of soil organic carbon compounds in boreal forests, it is important to learn about the microbial processes governing their transformations. In collaboration with scientists in the Canadian Forest Service and Dr. Susan Ziegler at Memorial University of Newfoundland, we are exploring the transformations of carboniferous compounds in soil profiles along a climate transect of balsam fir forests in Newfoundland. We seek to understand how temperature influences the formation of soil organic carbon compounds, vs. their release CO2.