Plant physiological ecology; forest-atmosphere exchanges of carbon dioxide, water vapor, ozone and energy; environmental and physiological control over the emission of isoprene and other biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from forest ecosystems and the relationship of VOC emissions to atmospheric chemistry; coupling of biogeochemical cycles, especially those involving water, carbon and nitrogen; the evolution of C4 photosynthesis in plants. Two primary efforts in my lab involve (1) studies of forest carbon and water flux at the Niwot Ridge Ameriflux site, located near Boulder in a high-elevation subalpine forest, and (2) studies of the biochemical and physiological controls over isoprene, monoterpene and acetaldehyde emissions from forest trees in relation to future climate change and elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentrations. Our aims in the effort related to forest-atmosphere fluxes involve quantification of forest carbon fluxes and elucidation of the principal biological and environmental controls over spatial and temporal variability in forest carbon sequestration. This effort supports the broader aim of understanding the global terrestrial carbon cycle. Our aims in the effort related to the controls over isoprene, monoterpene and acetaldehyde emissions involve development of fundamental biochemically-based models to predict how forests affect air quality in a future environment characterized by higher global temperatures, more frequent extreme climate events, and higher atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
