Carbon zoogeochemistry in the Arctic through time (CarbonZoo)
Name of applicant
Jeppe Ågård Kristensen
Title
Postdoctoral Fellow
Institution
University of Oxford
Amount
DKK 1,394,468
Year
2023
Type of grant
Reintegration Fellowships
What?
Assessing Arctic rewilding with introduction of large herbivores as a nature-based solution to the twin-crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss with a combination of palaeo-ecology, modern ecosystem science, and ecosystem modelling.
Why?
The Arctic is warming 3-4 times faster than the global average causing rapid permafrost thaw and biodiversity loss. Through eating, defecating, trampling etc. large animals, such as muskoxen, bison, and horses, can enhance carbon storage and stymie biodiversity loss. Yet, we lack crucial understanding of the underlying mechanisms, particularly soil processes, to understand the large scale effects.
How?
I will combine biomolecular techniques and ecosystem process proxies to explore relationships between mammal assemblies and biogeochemical processes in the Arctic during the last 50,000y. Further, I will use a modern herbivore manipulation experiment in Greenland as modern analogue, and use two types of ecosystem models to test animal reintroduction scenarios, some including de-extinct mammoths