Project description
Digging up the secrets of soil crusts
In the world’s arid and semi-arid regions, a hidden powerhouse exists beneath the soil. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) may seem insignificant, but they cover 12 % of the Earth’s surface and are vital for nutrient cycling. They play a crucial role in fixing atmospheric carbon and nitrogen, yet their full impact remains largely unexplored. Recent research suggests that these crusts could be a major source of reactive nitrogen and carbon, with significant consequences for the atmosphere. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the REFLOW project will measure biocrust emissions across various regions. Incorporating advanced modelling, the project will improve our understanding of their role in climate processes and enhance global predictions of their atmospheric impact.
Objective
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) cover up to 12% of the Earth's surface and are integral to nutrient cycling in these nutrient-deficient ecosystems because they have remarkable ability to fix atmospheric carbon and nitrogen. Recent studies have begun to recognize biocrusts as a potentially substantial source of reactive nitrogen, which can have significant consequences for the atmosphere. However, these estimations suffer from limited observations, particularly in some major biocrust-clustered zones that have been overlooked. Additionally, the emissions of reactive carbon, which also carry significant atmospheric and climatic implications, remain unexplored.
Therefore, this project aims to address these gaps by pursuing the following objectives: (1) Quantify the sources of reactive nitrogen and carbon from biocrusts across various global locations, (2) Establish empirical relationships between biocrust emissions of reactive nitrogen and carbon and environmental factors, particularly under the influence of climate change, and (3) Generate improved predictions for regional and global-scale emissions of reactive nitrogen and carbon by integrating them into the existing modeling framework.
This endeavor leverages state-of-the-art online measurement techniques for atmospheric reactive gases and employs a mechanistic modeling approach, and a high degree of complementary expertise between the host (secondment) and I. Ultimately, this project promises to significantly enhance our understanding of reactive nitrogen and carbon emissions from biocrusts on a global scale and provide a reliable foundation for assessing their atmospheric and climatic implications.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.