SPEAKER: Avni Malhotra, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

TITLE: Getting to the Root of Climate Change in Wetlands

ABSTRACT: Wetlands play a central role in the global carbon cycle through soil carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions. Wetland response to environmental change is expected to influence the global climate-carbon cycle feedback, but the magnitude and direction of this influence are unclear. One uncertainty lies at the plant-soil interface. The role of plants in mediating wetland carbon cycling is well understood aboveground, but belowground plant dynamics remain a black box. In this talk, I will focus on two broad research questions: how do wetland roots respond to environmental change and what are the implications of this change for soil carbon and ecosystem carbon fluxes? I will provide examples from field and lab research from a variety of wetland settings (peatlands, and experimental and coastal wetlands) and conclude with a forward-looking section on our predictive understanding of wetlands in a changing world.

SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY: Avni Malhotra is an earth scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory focused on above- and below-ground carbon cycle responses of ecosystems to global change, with the overarching goal of improving predictive understanding of ecosystems. Avni specializes in carbon-rich ecosystems such as peatlands and wetlands, which are a globally significant but vulnerable sink of carbon, and key players in global greenhouse gas budgets. She employs a multi-scale approach where fine-scale process investigations in the lab and field are placed in a broader context using global data syntheses and model-data integration.

EVENT DETAILS: Faculty, students, and the public are invited to attend this program. Advanced registration is not required. Refreshments will be available after the seminar. Parking is available on the third and fourth floors in the South Quad Parking Deck across from the CFWE Building on Duncan Drive. To receive announcements about future seminars, download the 2024 Fall Seminar Calendar or request to join our email list at cfwecom@auburn.edu.

Contact the seminar host or Robert Gitzen at rag0012@auburn.edu if you would like to attend via Zoom or access a recorded version of the seminar.