The EucFACE experiment featured in a film promoted to over 4000 attendees at the 26th IUFRO World Congress, held recently in Stockholm, Sweden. The International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) is the premier international network uniting forest scientists and researchers. It’s World Congress, held… Read More »The EucFACE experiment featured in a film
NATURE Published: 05 June 2024 Abstract The capacity for terrestrial ecosystems to sequester additional carbon (C) with rising CO2 concentrations depends on soil nutrient availability1,2. Previous evidence suggested that mature forests growing on phosphorus (P)-deprived soils had limited capacity to sequester extra biomass under elevated CO2 (refs. 3,4,5,6),… Read More »Microbial competition for phosphorus limits the CO2 response of a mature forest
Researchers at Western Sydney University have released a groundbreaking study finding that elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, which are expected to boost plant growth, may actually limit extra tree growth in elevated CO2 due to nutrient limitations, specifically phosphorus, held up through soil microbes. Published… Read More »Eucalyptus trees hindered by soil microbes in elevated CO2 environments
Published: June 6, 2024 6.26am CEST As humanity continues to burn fossil fuels, the delicate balance of life on Earth is changing. That’s true of trees, many of which are growing faster as a result of increased carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations in our atmosphere. But… Read More »The Conversation: A fierce battle is being fought in the soil beneath our feet – and the implications for global warming are huge
A new international study led by Western Sydney University researchers has quantified phosphorus constraints to photosynthesis in tropical forests, highlighting how accounting for this constraint can improve the world’s climate. Tropical forests have an important role in the carbon cycle, absorbing more carbon from the… Read More »Tropical rainforests show phosphorus key to understanding world’s ecosystems
University of Birmingham 2022 BIFoR Annual Meeting – transforming our understanding of global forests. Belinda Medlyn, EucFACE, Western Sydney University “Ten years of CO2 fumigation, phosphorus limitation and disturbance dynamics”. See presentation here
Will Goodwin, Bachelor of Natural Science (Environmental Management). Rising high above the tree tops at our Hawkesbury campus, you’ll be able to see Australia’s largest climate change facility. Will shares more about this groundbreaking experiment and how it works! See VIDEO here
New Australian research suggests trees may not be the carbon sponges we think they are. The findings compliment a larger international study that suggests the world’s major forests are saturated and will soon begin emitting, not absorbing carbon. Also, the Finish experiment where citizens are… Read More »ABC podcast: Saturated trees and carbon rationing
Researchers at Western Sydney University’s EucFACE (Eucalyptus Free Air CO2 Enrichment) (opens in new window) experiment have found new evidence of limitations in the capacity of mature forests to translate rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations into additional plant growth and carbon storage. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is sometimes described as “food for… Read More »Don’t look to mature forests to soak up carbon dioxide emissions – Nature April 2020
The following opinion piece, co-authored by Professor Benjamin Smith, Director of Research, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, was first published with full links on The Conversation (opens in new window). The alarming rate of carbon dioxide flowing into our atmosphere is affecting plant life in interesting ways… Read More »Yes, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere helps plants grow, but it’s no excuse to downplay climate change – The Conversation Feb 2020