Linking carbon source-sink dynamics to autumn phenology: Predicting tree growth rhythms in temperature and boreal forests

This project will combine experiments, multi-site observations, and meta-analyses to mechanistically understand the relationship between leaf senescence and its drivers at the plant and ecosystem scales with a particular focus on source-sink relationships. The unveiled mechanisms will be integrated into phenology and dynamic global vegetation models to better quantify ecosystem C uptake and sequestration. Specifically, we will

1. leverage experiments and a meta-analysis to test the impact of leaf NSC concentrations on senescence,
2. combine experiments and large-scale data from eddy covariance sites with dendrometer measurements to investigate how variations in carbon sink and source activities impact leaf senescence onset,
3. use mesocosm experiments to quantify the interactive effects of temperature and radiation on senescence progression, and
4. embed the detected mechanisms into a phenology model coupled to a dynamic global vegetation model to predict phenology-driven changes