About this Event
ABSTRACT
Ecosystems provide habitats for millions of species and are critical in regulating biogeochemical cycles and the Earth's climate. Human well-being depends on healthy ecosystems. Understanding the biotic and abiotic processes within an ecosystem and how they respond to environmental change is necessary to inform potential interventions to restore and sustain ecosystems. In this lecture, I will (1) describe my attempt to further our understanding of essential ecosystem functions, such as the storage and flux of carbon, water, and nutrients across diverse terrestrial ecosystems, (2) present case studies showing the effect of natural and human disturbances on ecosystem functions, (3) discuss the opportunities and limitations of ecosystem-based strategies to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Luitgard grew up on a small farm in the Black Forest. She completed a PhD at the University of Göttingen, Germany. After a postdoc in the US and a fixed-term lecturer position in Germany, she moved to New Zealand in 2010 to take a position at the University of Auckland. Her research is at the interface of ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, and biodiversity. Her current research focuses on carbon and water fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and how environmental change alters the functions of ecosystems. She works across diverse terrestrial ecosystems (forests, grasslands, tropics, temperate).
Refreshments will be served in the basement foyer of building 303 (303-B00L2) from 5:30pm, prior to the lecture.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Physics Lecture Theatre 1, Building 303 (PLT1 / 303-G20), Albany, New Zealand