OEKB301888 Carbon sequestration and nutrient turnover

Type
Lecture and exercise
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Hochsteiner, Flora , Keiblinger, Katharina , Hood-Nowotny, Rebecca , Hasenauer, Hubert
Organisation
Soil Research
Offered in
Wintersemester 2026/27
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

How much carbon can ecosystems store, and what determines whether this carbon remains stored or is released? This course connects the biogeochemical foundations of carbon sequestration and nutrient turnover with field measurements and the critical assessment of climate change mitigation and adaptation options. Forest ecosystems provide the main practical example, with links to soil and land management more broadly.

Lectures on core topics:

• Introduction to the carbon cycle and nitrogen dynamics of ecosystems, including links between carbon storage, nutrient availability and climate change.

• Impacts of anthropogenic and natural nutrient inputs on forest soils, microbial diversity and soil carbon pools, including relevant EU policies.

• Nutrient acquisition strategies in forest soils and their significance for soil–plant interactions and ecosystem functioning.

• Experimental approaches to investigating carbon storage and turnover in soils, including the role of microbial processes.

• Aboveground carbon estimation: available methods, calculation approaches and their assumptions and limitations.

• The role of forests in the global carbon cycle, including the conditions under which forests act as carbon sinks or sources and the implications for climate change mitigation and sustainable management.

A field excursion to the Knödelhütte provides hands-on experience with selected measurements, such as greenhouse gas flux measurements, soil sampling and aboveground carbon estimation. In the subsequent seminar, students calculate and interpret carbon and nutrient data, present their findings and discuss what the results can reveal about ecosystem functioning and climate mitigation.
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

• explain the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nutrients and their interactions with water availability, microbial activity and plant growth;

• analyse how environmental conditions, nutrient inputs and management influence carbon storage and turnover in vegetation, deadwood and soils;

• distinguish carbon stocks, carbon fluxes and carbon sequestration, and explain the conditions under which ecosystems act as carbon sinks or sources;

• apply selected field methods and calculation procedures to estimate carbon stocks and investigate greenhouse gas fluxes and nutrient dynamics;

• interpret field data, identify methodological assumptions and sources of uncertainty, and explain how measurements inform carbon accounting and biogeochemical modelling;

• assess the potential and limitations of measures to protect existing carbon pools and enhance carbon sequestration under regional soil and climate conditions;

• discuss interactions and trade-offs between carbon storage, nutrient availability and water, and justify implications for climate change mitigation and adaptation;

• present and critically discuss findings using transparent calculations and scientifically supported reasoning.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.