Hello Ecologgers, On behalf of my co-coordinators, Kelly Caylor and Paolo D'Odorico, I would like to bring your attention to a session of the Spring AGU Joint Assembly (22-25 May) in Acapulco. The session is entitled:
Dynamics and interaction of belowground carbon pools in dryland ecosystems The submission deadline is March 1. If you're interested, you can submit your abstract directly to the AGU website. We hope that you'll be able to join us for what should be both a fun and informative session. A Description is below. The URL for the Session is: http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/? content=search&show=detail&sessid=268 The URL for the meeting is: http://www.agu.org/meetings/ja07/? content=program Hope to see you in Acapulco, Best, Greg Okin Session Description: Belowground carbon exists in four main pools: roots, microbes, soil organic matter, and carbonates. This session will examine the dynamics and interrelationships between these main carbon pools in water-limited ecosystems. In these ecosystems, seasonal moisture deficits modulate the growth and spatial distribution of roots, and thus the growth and distribution of aboveground biomass. The spatial and temporal distribution of roots has critical feedbacks into plant water use, and also influences the distribution and characteristics of microbial communities and soil organic matter. Moisture deficits result in the formation of soil carbonates that impact soil physical and chemical properties, with important feedbacks on root growth, soil respiration, and microbial habitats. We seek contributions that elucidate the dynamics of one or more of these important belowground carbon pools in dryland ecosystems, with special emphasis on 1) the relationships between root ecology and surface hydrology, 2) the role of soil microbial communities in facilitating uptake and storage of water and nutrients, 3) the interplay between spatio-temporal distributions of soil carbon and root distribution/turnover, 4) the coupled biological and geochemical controls on soil carbonate formation, and 5) explorations into the sensitivity of these belowground carbon pools to land use and climate change in dryland environments. Gregory S. Okin Asst. Professor Department of Geography University of California, Los Angeles Phone: (310) 825-3426 E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.geog.ucla.edu/faculty/okin/Gregory_S_Okin/Info.html
