Nice visuals, good organization! Couple of thoughts:
1. It would be good to describe the mechanisms behind why CO2 might influence decompsition directly (as the Hobbie experience found), and you might also consider talking about how precipiation and temperature interact.
2. I liked the schematic of leaf litter decay but agree that the text is a bit small. Also, you could consider turning this into an original schematic / figure by adding arrows with annual fluxes (for example) - even if for a case study. If you then somehow highlight those arrows that might change with climate change, plus indicate in what way, that might be an intuitive way to provide feedback.
3. Just being the devils advocate, but it seems like you could argue that increased decomp could release more nutrients, making the forest more productive, but it could also release more CO2... Might be worth making the distinction between impacts on forest functioning vs. further feedbacks to climate.
Great intro! I have a very good idea of what I am about to learn, and visuals and background are nice!
ReplyDeleteNice visuals, good organization! Couple of thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. It would be good to describe the mechanisms behind why CO2 might influence decompsition directly (as the Hobbie experience found), and you might also consider talking about how precipiation and temperature interact.
2. I liked the schematic of leaf litter decay but agree that the text is a bit small. Also, you could consider turning this into an original schematic / figure by adding arrows with annual fluxes (for example) - even if for a case study. If you then somehow highlight those arrows that might change with climate change, plus indicate in what way, that might be an intuitive way to provide feedback.
3. Just being the devils advocate, but it seems like you could argue that increased decomp could release more nutrients, making the forest more productive, but it could also release more CO2... Might be worth making the distinction between impacts on forest functioning vs. further feedbacks to climate.