Carbon Pools, Dynamics and Budget of the Bruce Peninsula

The northern Bruce Peninsula is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, contains the largest continuous forest in Southern Ontario and is a hotspot for biodiversity. However, there is little research done on the carbon pools, their dynamics and the soil carbon budget. A more comprehensive understanding of the processes regulating the uptake and release of carbon dioxide with the atmosphere is needed. This thesis aims to 1) quantify how much carbon is stored in aboveground biomass, soil, roots, litter, and deadwood pools, 2) understand how the carbon moves between these pools and 3) estimate the annual rate of change of the soil carbon budget. Using a LICOR LI8100, measuring soil respiration at 15-minute intervals over the course of two years, the amount of carbon released by heterotrophic (Rh) and autotrophic (Ra) respiration, was determined for litter and soil separately.