Aims:

• to investigate past and present response of woody C3 and C4 plants to climate change
• to get better insight into the long-term variability of growth and water-use efficiency of woody C3 and C4 plants
• to extend back in time the instrumental records of atmospheric CO₂ (δ¹³CO₂, CO₂ concentration) utilizing δ13C of tree rings from C4 plants
• to assess δ13C of woody C4 plants as bioproductivity indicators for the northern hemisphere
• to elucidate  the potential for adaptation of C3 and C4 plants to climate change

Study sites and Material:

• C3 (Mamane, Sophora chrysophylla) and C4 (Akoko, Euphorbia olowaluana), from Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii (ridge between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea)
• High quality instrumental data records from the nearby Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), with continuous direct measurements of atmospheric CO₂ since 1958 for isotope proxy data calibration

Methods:

• Measurement of growth increment periodicity and the stable isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in tree ring cellulose
• Dendroecological long-term monitoring of  Hawaiian woody C3 and C4 plants

Prof. Dr. Patrick Hart, UH at Hilo, Hawaii, USA

Ms. Tishanna Ben, UH at Hilo, Hawaii, USA

Prof. Dr. Brian Schubert, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, USA

Zuwendungsgeber

Laufend