Principal Investigator Cesar Terrer
Project Website https://terrerlab.mit.edu/
Project Start Date July 2021
The focus of research of Terrer Laboratory is Climate Science. We are working to answer some of the central questions in Earth system science and climate-change research by employing a holistic view of Earth’s dynamics at a global scale, with a focus on plant-soil interactions. We synthesize large datasets of field observations and remote-sensing data through meta-analysis, machine-learning, and other statistical approaches to better understand the global functioning of terrestrial ecosystems.
Studies are grouped in two main intersected research lines: (1) Carbon ecology - To improve our ecological understanding of the dynamics modulating the capacity of terrestrial ecosystems to store carbon in a climate-change context (CO2 rising, warming, nitrogen deposition, changes in water regimes). The final goal is to make climate models more realistic by focusing on model uncertainties;
(2) Solutions - To identify and implement data-driven strategies to maximize carbon uptake in terrestrial ecosystems while optimizing ecological dynamics. A better understanding will facilitate advances to slow global warming.