The transit time of carbon through the terrestrial biosphere

Type
Lecture

Contact
Carlos Sierra

Place
BGC lecture hall, ground floor

Time
10.00 am – 10.20 am

Capacity
127

Language
English

Abstract

The transit time of carbon through the terrestrial biosphere

Carbon, an essential element for life, is cycled in terrestrial ecosystems by autotrophic organisms that convert it to organic compounds and by heterotrophic organisms that consume it and return it back to the atmosphere in different gaseous forms. Multiple processes performed by living organisms contribute to the cycling of carbon at different rates. The concept of transit time of carbon captures this variety of processes into a single metric. This presentation will introduce the concept of transit time of carbon, and it will show work by the Theoretical Ecosystem Ecology group to obtain the transit time of the entire terrestrial biosphere.