QUEST-QUERCC
Leader: Prof F. Ian Woodward
QUERCC (Quantifying and Understanding Ecosystems Role in the Carbon Cycle) is a sub-project of QUEST Theme 1 (the contemporary carbon cycle). We are interested in translating improvements in our understanding of ecosystem carbon dynamics into increasingly accurate predictions of the future of land-atmosphere feedback. Our project brings together teams working on soil carbon and nutrient cycling, remote sensing, vegetation dynamics, plant functional types, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake and climate modelling.
Within QUERCC we are collaboratively developing a new dynamic vegetation model to be used in the community model JULES (Joint-UK Land Environment Simulator) model, the QUEST Earth System Model (QESM) and the Hadley Centre climate model.
We also have strong links within the UK and international community to groups studying trace-gas emissions (QUEST-QUAAC), fire modelling (FIRE-MAFS, Reading), tropical vegetation structure and function (TROBIT and RAINFOR, Leeds, Oxford), Earth Observation and the Carbon Cycle (CTCD, CLASSIC), Arctic Systems (ABACUS, Edinburgh) and global plant properties (ARC-NZ, Sydney).