SAGES Theme 2 explores five overarching questions:
This theme brings together scientists from different universities studying the carbon cycle at scales varying from microbial to global. Carbon sinks and sources are identified and characterised to understand fluxes, influences and impacts within different environments. Among the systems studied, soils, forests, peatlands and marshes are of particular interest, owing to their ability to store carbon, their sensitivity to global warming and specific land management practices, and their potential to lower atmospheric greenhouse gases through changed land management. Rivers, mangroves, glaciers and biochar are some of the many other systems that Theme 2 researchers study.
Theme 2 researchers use a variety of data collection techniques, from ground-based field sampling and laboratory measurements, to global-scale satellite observations and computational modelling. The Theme 2 activities generate data with a wide range of applications; including improving the way Global Circulation Models (GCMs) represent the exchange of carbon dioxide and methane between the atmosphere and the ground surface, directing national and international net-zero policies, influencing forestry management practices, and informing on matters relating to societal health and food security.
