MEDIA ADVISORY

TO:                      Science and Education Reporters

FROM:                 University Relations

SUBJECT:            UAF Researcher Published in Nature

The world's grasslands could lessen the impacts of global warming, according to research led by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist published in the Jan. 11 issue of the journal Nature. Terry Chapin, a professor of ecology at UAF's Institute of Arctic Biology, co-authored the article, which describes a mechanism for which grasslands can become carbon "sinks."

Chapin, along with researchers at North Carolina State University, the University of California, Berkeley, and at Stanford University believe that carbon accumulation in the terrestrial biosphere could partially offset the effects of increased atmospheric CO2–a greenhouse gas associated with global warming.

Carbon dioxide, the colorless gas that occurs in the atmosphere, is on the rise due to the burning of fossil fuels. According to scientists, research indicates that its increase in the atmosphere leads to the "greenhouse effect," which creates a warmer climate.

Chapin and other scientists involved in the study, "Nitrogen Limitation of Microbial Decomposition in a Grassland Under Elevated CO2," conducted experiments at California's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford in grasslands from 1992 to 1997. The results showed that increased carbon dioxide alters the interaction between plants and microbes below ground in favor of nitrogen use resulting in slowed plant decomposition and increased carbon accumulation in soils.

"Long-term experiments are required to understand ecosystem responses to global environmental change," said Chapin.

Chapin is considered a leader in the field of study which seeks to better understand the complex interactions between organisms and their environment, particularly carbon storage in tundra plants and boreal forest. He's continued his research in the Arctic tundra of Alaska, most recently as a principal investigator for Project Frostfire, a 2,000-acre prescribed burn in Alaska during the summer of 1999. The Jasper Ridge project was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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CONTACT: Professor Terry Chapin, UAF Institute of Arctic Biology, at (907) 474-7922 or email at fschapin@lter.uaf.edu.

CJB/01/22/01-042ma