Water-carbon relations

As ecohydrologists, we are interested in better understanding the link between carbon (CO2 or CH4) and water in different ecosystems. We do so by combining process-based modeling of vegetation, stable isotopes experiments, field experiments, and analysis of satellite data. We are specifically curious about the influence of climate change-induced shifts in water resources on the ability of plants to uptake carbon dioxide or for wetlands to produce methane.

Relevant publications

1. C. Gerlein-Safdi, A.A. Bloom, E. Kort, G. Plant, and C.S. Ruf, 2021. Improving representation of tropical wetland methane emissions with CYGNSS inundation maps. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 35, e2020GB006890, doi: 10.1029/2020GB006890

2. C. Gerlein-Safdi, G. Keppel-Aleks, F. Wang, S.E. Frolking, and D.L. Mauzerall, 2020. Satellite monitoring of natural reforestation efforts in China’s drylands, One Earth, 2 (1), 98–108, doi: 10.1016/j.oneear.2019.12.015

3. C. Gerlein-Safdi, M.C. Koohafkan, M. Chung, F.E. Rockwell, S. Thompson, and K.K. Caylor, 2018. Dew deposition suppresses transpiration and carbon uptake in leaves, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 259, 305–316, doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2018.05.015

4. C. Gerlein-Safdi, P.P.G. Gauthier, and K.K. Caylor, 2018. Dew-induced transpiration suppression impacts the water and isotope balances of Colocasia leaves, Oecologia, 187:4, 1041-1051, doi: 10.1007/s00442-018-4199-y