Exploring the Role of Plant Functional Traits and Anatomy in Leaf Litter Decomposition

Project Team

Dr. Cindy Prescott, Professor, Faculty of Forestry

Jenna Zukswert, MSc Candidate, Faculty of Forestry

Funding

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, BC Ministry of Agriculture, Centre of Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm, NSERC, and UBC Faculty of Land & Food Systems.

 

About the Project

Build forest leaf litter decomposition rate models to increase the preciseness of carbon cycling predictions in the face of climate change.

External Links and Publications

Philpott TJ, Barker JS, Prescott CE, Grayston SJ (2018). Limited effects of variable retention harvesting on fungal communities decomposing fine roots in coastal temperate rainforests. Applied Environmental Microbiology.

Binkley D, Adams M, Fredericksen T, Laclau JP, Prescott CE. (2018). Connecting ecological science and management in forests for scientists, managers and pocket scientists. Forest Ecology and Management Forest Ecology and Management 410: 157-163

Zukswert, J.M., Prescott, C.E. Relationships among leaf functional traits, litter traits, and mass loss during early phases of leaf litter decomposition in 12 woody plant species. Oecologia 185, 305–316 (2017).  

Banner Photo Credit: Wolf Read