About the Study:
The Residential Carbon study, begun in 2004, aims to investigate the movement of carbon and carbon dioxide among vegetation, soils, and the atmosphere. The movement of carbon dioxide between the air and the earth is an important indicator of global warming.
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:: Baltimore Ecosystem Study
:: Institute of Ecosystem Studies
:: Parks and People
:: University of Vermont
:: USDA Forest Service
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What?
We are doing a field study to understand carbon (C) cycling in suburban neighborhoods – in soils and turfgrass.
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Why?
Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) are increasing, and this increase is likely to cause changes in long-term climate (the increase in CO2 and the resulting climate changes are known as “global change”). Since plants use CO2 to get the energy they need for growth, interactions between vegetation and soils on the ground and the carbon in the atmosphere can have an important impact on the rate of atmospheric CO2 increase. In other words, the more carbon (C) is stored on the ground, in plants and in soils, the less CO2 there will be in the atmosphere. Scientists know a lot about C cycling in most ecosystems, but suburban and urban landscapes have been largely ignored until recently. In addition, what little research there is on C cycling in urban and suburban ecosystems has come from outside the northeast US. In typical urban and suburban areas in the northeastern US, turfgrass covers between 20 and 30% of the total land area. |
Where?
Currently the project is looking at neighborhoods in Burlington, Vermont and Baltimore, Maryland. |
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