This is an invitation for participation in the TeaComposition H2O initiative that aims to expand the current TeaComposition initiative to marine and freshwater aquatic ecosystems. TeaComposition H2O is led by the Blue Carbon Lab's Drs Peter Macreadie and Stacey Trevathan-Tackett from Deakin University in Australia (http://bluecarbonlab.org/teacomposition-h2o/). The Blue Carbon Lab specialises in carbon cycling in aquatic ecosystems from the microbes and gas flux to ecosystem restoration and carbon offset feasibility assessments.
Litter decomposition represents one of the largest fluxes in the global carbon cycle. The TeaComposition initiative lead by Dr Ika Djukic and colleagues aims to 'study the long-term litter decomposition and hence the long-term C dynamics (both the litter C losses and C storage) and its key drivers at the present and predicted climate scenarios worldwide'. TeaComposition is terrestrial-based and is currently covering 300 sites and 9 zonobiomes! For more info on the terrestrial TeaComposition, contact Dr Djukic at ika.dju...@umweltbundesamt.at. Project highlights: REQUIREMENTS: The following are required to be kept constant to ensure that incubation parameters are parallel for all sites. Any deviations must be discussed a priori. * Contact s.trevathantack...@deakin.edu.au<mailto:s.trevathantack...@deakin.edu.au> for a link to the signup sheet. * Start of Incubation: May-June 2017 (N. Hemisphere) and November-December 2017 (S. Hemisphere) * Sampling times: 3 mo, 6 mo, 1 yr, 2 yr, 3 yr. There is some flexibility to sampling (e.g. 11-13 weeks for 3 month sampling or 23-25 weeks for 6 month sampling). * Tea type: Use of the green and red tea we provide. * Basic environmental parameter description: Ecosystem type including plant biodiversity, GPS, inundation, soil temperature (preferred), water or air temperature, sediment description. * Sediment depth: Burial below the rhizosphere or root/rhizome area (if possible, depending on the vegetation at the site) but above the clay layer. This is be approximately 10-15 cm depending on the environment. Also, these layers will likely be anoxic for inundated sediments, so it's important to record changes in inundation. IN THE LAB & FIELD: * Weighing of tea before deployment and after retrieval * Cleaning of tea bags after retrieval and before drying/weighing are critical to not losing tea or artificially gaining mass due to attached sediment * Preserving DNA samples for future microbial analyses (optional). This is vital for maintaining the quality of DNA if you're able to opt in for sampling the microbes. TeaComposition H2O is a quickly growing initiative, and we hope to hear from you soon. Cheers, Stacey Stacey Trevathan-Tackett, PhD Associate Research Fellow TeaComposition H2O Initiative Blue Carbon Lab Centre for Integrative Ecology School of Life and Environmental Sciences Deakin University, Burwood Campus 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, VIC 3125 Australia Office: 03 9244 3899 Mobile: 0424483513 E-mail: s<mailto:mhol...@deakin.edu.au>.trevathantack...@deakin.edu.au<mailto:.trevathantack...@deakin.edu.au> Website: http://bluecarbonlab.org/Lab-Members/stacey-trevathan-tackett/ Important Notice: The contents of this email are intended solely for the named addressee and are confidential; any unauthorised use, reproduction or storage of the contents is expressly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it and any attachments immediately and advise the sender by return email or telephone. Deakin University does not warrant that this email and any attachments are error or virus free.
