Abstract

Drylands, which span an area five times the size of the Amazon, have massive potential to serve as either a carbon sink or source depending on shifting resource availability and disturbance events. In my talk, I will present the current theory and understanding of dryland carbon cycling, how ecosystem models capture these trends, and what challenges lie ahead. I will then present a new European Research Council Starter Grant project that aims to deliver models capable of forecasting nature-based climate solutions in drylands and collaborate with industry players.

Bio

Adam Pellegrini is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and an affiliated Fellow of the University of Michigan Global Change Institute. His group addresses questions around fundamental ecology and biogeochemistry, applied ecology, and climate change science.