BIFoR FACE Research

We have tried to map projects into different research themes but as the research is related to whole forest ecosystems, there is naturally overlap between the areas. To see the University of Birmingham staff and students involved in each of the research areas please go to our “Research Team” webpage.

An overview of the emerging results from the research underway at BIFoR FACE, is available to listen to in a podcast interview of Director, Prof Rob Mackenzie by Tonia Clark from Birmingham Tree People.

Research council funded projects underway at BIFoR FACE

The following are examples of research council funded projects underway at BIFoR FACE:

QUINTUS (2018 -2024) - a £3.7m NERC funded large grant project, Quinquennial (half-decadal) carbon and nutrient dynamics in temperate forests: Implications for carbon sequestration in a high carbon dioxide world, led by Prof Rob MacKenzie (University of Birmingham)

FACE Underground (2020 - 2023) - a standard NERC funded project. This project will use the FACE experiment to determine whether mature temperate forests will be able to access more soil nutrients under elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2), led by Dr Sami Ullah (University of Birmingham)

Disentangling mechanisms of co-adaption between trees and soil food webs in response to environmental perturbations (2019 - 2022) - a NERC funded project, led by Prof David Johnson (University of Manchester)

Distributed Real Time Soil (DiRTS) Monitoring (2020 - 2022) a NERC funded project led by Dr Sami Ullah (University of Birmingham).

NI: Network for Monitoring Canopy Temperature of Forests (netCTF) - a 2020 NERC funded project led by Dr Sophie Fauset (University of Plymouth). This project will increase the global network for IR monitoring of forest canopy temperatures (netCTF). As part of that award an instrument will be placed on our 40m flux tower collecting important continuous measurements.

The information to follow regarding measurements at BIFoR FACE is separated into:

Core measurements - these measurements have been taken continuously over a long period and are made in most cases by the Research Technician staff at the FACE Facility
Project specific measurements - these might have been taken just for a shorter undergraduate/postgraduate research project.

If you have an idea for research at the BIFoR FACE facility, we'd really like to hear from you, we've a team of people willing to talk to any future collaborators, please do 'contact us' if you would like an initial conversation or if you have an idea developed already you can complete a short form to start the process.

Aboveground vegetation processes

Core measurements

Green chromatic coordinate (GCC) and red chromatic coordinate (RCC) – Phenocam
Phenology and biodiversity observations, including bryophyte, deadwood surveys
Tree stem growth – LIDAR surveys (includes tree height), dendrometers (manual and automated)
Tissue samples of green leaves taken from the top/middle/bottom of canopy for oak trees and also tissue samples from the other 3 key species of tree (hazel, hawthorn & sycamore) biobanked for chemical analysis
Tissue samples of buds & catkins bio banked for future research
Leaf Area measurements of green leaves sampled from top/middle/bottom of canopy for the four key species of tree (oak, hazel, hawthorn & sycamore)
Leaf litter trap samples - samples are separated into up to 9 different categories including a 'woody material' archive and 'reproductive output' archive
Leaf Area Index – both hemispherical and direct method
Each tree is identified and has its own ID number and is mapped.

Projects specific measurements

Leaf temperature
Leaf-level gas exchange
Tree stem respiration
Canopy spread
Tree stem xylem sap flux
Stem wood characteristics from core and slice samples
Physiological performance in naturally regenerated trees
Carbon isotope analysis of tree cores
Sulphur measurements from tree discs
Poplar seedlings under elevated CO₂
Wood compositional analysis
Dry and wet deposition fluxes
Sub-canopy Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
Imaging of leaves from leaf litter traps for leaf area
Acorn collection and some hazel nuts

Examples of research projects

QUINTUS a £3.7m NERC funded large grant - Quinquennial (half-decadal) carbon and nutrient dynamics in temperate forests: Implications for carbon sequestration in a high carbon dioxide world

Physiological performance of seedlings in a temperate FACE forest - post-doctoral research fellow, Dr Carolina Mayoral. Presentation 2019

Introduction to and analysis of the green chromatic coordinate of BIFoR FACE (Poster 2022)

High rainfall disturbs soil microbial structure and function in a mature temperate forest under elevated carbon dioxide (Poster 202)

Tree Growth in an Oak Woodland Exposed to Elevated Atmospheric CO2 (Poster 2022)

Monitoring the Carbon Dioxide levels in the BIFoR FACE baseline areas (Poster 2022)

From branch to forest to globe: how do tree choices regarding growth change forest response to eCO2? (Poster 2022)

Do elevated CO2, ozone (O3) and diesel fumes alter the volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions of plants under insect attack? (Poster 2022)

Weighing trees non-destructively from terrestrial LiDAR point cloud data - Dr Eric Casella, Forest Research. Poster 2019

Earthwatch Institute - How does CO₂ enrichment influence within season growth? Poster 2019

Old Growth oaks: the effect of elevated CO₂- PhD student, Anna Gardner. Poster 2021

Early responses of leaf level assimilation to elevated CO₂ in a mature oak forest - Dr Sabine Tausz. Poster 2018

Belowground vegetation, litter and soil processes

Core measurements

Fine Root development
Soil CO₂, H₂0 Fluxes
N mineralization and N₂O source partitioning studies.
Soil sampling and lab analysis for nutrients (cations, anions), particle size distribution at least three times a year
pH, soil type, organic matter content, CEC, bulk density
Leaf litter
Hyphal growth and turnover

Project specific measurements

CH₄ and N₂0
Leaf litter decomposition
Fine root production and chemistry:
Hyphal growth and turnover
Root and hyphal control over decomposition rates, microbial functional activity and nutrient availability
Production and turnover of extra-radical mycelium of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi
Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM).

Examples of research projects

QUINTUS - Quinquennial (half-decadal) carbon and nutrient dynamics in temperate forests: Implications for carbon sequestration in a high carbon dioxide world

Manchester project with PI Prof D Johnson

Disentangling mechanisms of co-adaption between trees and soil food webs in response to environmental perturbations. A University of Manchester led project - Prof D Johnson

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and nitrogen mineralization in forest soils under elevated CO₂ by Manon Rumeau. Poster 2022

FACE Underground will use the FACE experiment to determine whether mature temperate forests will be able to access more soil nutrients under elevated carbon dioxide (eCO₂)

Deciduous Woodlands under eCO2 and Nitrogen Deposition: Biogeochemical tradeoffs and the fate of soil carbon Poster 2022

Soil Bioavailable Nitrogen at BIFoR FACE, by PhD student Angeliki Kourmouli. Poster 2019

Resistance and resilience of forest soil microbial communities to extreme weather events
in a high CO₂ world - University of Warwick, Katy Faulkner Poster 2021

Does wood grown under elevated CO₂ decompose at a different pace than wood grown under ambient conditions? - ETH Zurich Prof Tom Crowther

At the interface of soil and air: What happens under future climate? - by Nine Douwes-Dekker. Poster 2022

Getting to the root of the problem - PhD student Clare Ziegler, Dr Iain Johnston and Dr Rosemary Dyson. Poster 2019.

Soil Water Cation Chemistry Under Elevated CO₂ Conditions at BIFoR FACE, by masters student Samuel Walrond. Poster 2019

Ionophore-based sensors in BIFoR; results and opportunities (Poster) and Low cost chemical sensors for monitoring soil nutrients: progress and opportunities University of Keele, Dr A Radu. Presentation 2019.

Animals (especially invertebrates)

Core Measurements

Camera traps are installed through the woodland - take a look at some images in our "Gallery"

Project specific measurements

Invertebrate sampling including the following trapping:
Malaise, pitfall, pan, funnel, beating (canopy, field layers), Robinson trap
Image analysis of green leaves and senesced leaves for herbivory
Leaf mines
Winter active lepidoptera specific study
Saproxylic activity and wood decay

Example Projects

Mines bigger than yours - PhD student Liam Crowley. Poster 2021

Investigating the effects of elevated carbon dioxide on forest arthropods - PhD student Liam Crowley. Presentation 2019.

Listen to Dr Scott Hayward's 2021 talk from our Annual Meeting.

A collaborative project with the University of Lund

Assessing the functional contribution of saproxylic invertebrates to wood decay and carbon cycling under changing C0₂ conditions. - University of Leicester led project by Dr Moya Burns, a long term study commenced in 2019.

Atmospheric processes

Please also look at our webpage "Flux Tower and Met Masts" for further information.

Core Measurements

Wind speed
CO₂,H₂O,CH₄, fluxes
Solar and net radiation
Air temperature and relative humidity profile

Project Specific Measurements

Plant Metabolites
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) concentrations eg nitrous acid (HONO), peroxynitrate (NO₄), dinitrogen pentoxide(N₂0₅), BBCEAS, NOx and Ozone (O₃)
Micro-meteorological measurements (using sensors mounted directly on to the central rigger mast): air temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), relative humidity and wind speed and direction
Bioaerosol particles

Example Projects

Wind flow across a forest edge - PhD student Ed Bannister. Presentation 2020

Finding a needle in a haystack’ – Monitoring pollen with low-cost sensors and machine learning

Eddy Covariance Fluxes and Footprints at BIFoR FACE - a collaborative project with the Met Office and Swansea University. Poster 2019

UAV-based measurements of solar induced fluorescence (SIF) thumb

Open University's Kadmiel Maseyk et al's project UAV-based measurements of solar induced fluorescence (SIF) to investigate photosynthetic responses to elevated CO₂. Poster 2020

How will forests smell in the future? - University of Lancaster, PhD Student Tom King. Poster 2020

Bioaerosols at BIFoR FACE by Aileen Baird. Poster 2021 (see also Aileen's presentation under Microbial Processes tab below).

Which volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by trees, or show significant increases or decreases, under herbivory? How is this moderated by exposure to elevated CO2, O3, or both? A systematic review and meta analysis. - PhD student Laura James. Poster 2021

Laura James

Dispersion inside woodland using CO₂ data measured at Mill Haft - by student Jinxiu Han, Dr Xiaoming Cai and Dr Rick Thomas. Poster 2018

VOCs, their role in mapping ecosystem changes under high CO₂ - PhD student Anthony Hyacinth. Poster 2018.

Water

FACE arrays core measurements

Throughfall precipitation (ground level)
Groundwater levels
Field precipitation (ground level)

FACE arrays project specific measurements

Tree stem xylem sap flux
Isotopic composition of branches
Soil water isotopic composition
Soil pore water samples
Soil temperature profile
Leaf water potential
Leaf transpiration and water vapour exchange

Across site project specific measurements

· Resarzurin-resorufin(Raz/Rru)
· Dissolved Oxygen
· Conductivity Temperature and Depth (CTD)
· Stream Stage
· pH/electrical conductivity/dissolved oxygen/turbidity/temp/chromophoric dissolved organic matter/Tryptophan
· NO₃, NO₂, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Organic Carbon (TOC)
· Stream pore water samples
· Stream surface water samples
· Precipitation
· Air pressure

Example projects in FACE arrays / across the woodland site

The plant-water conundrum: root-xylem-stomatal response of Quercus robur (pedunculate oak) to elevated CO2 in a temperate futureforest experiment.

Xylem sapflow at BIFoR FACE: early results of Tree-Soil-Water Relations- PhD Sue Quick. Presentation 2022

Wrangling Plant-Water data: an update - PhD Sue Quick, Poster 2021

Trends in soil moisture and temperature dynamics in juvenile forests align to those of mature forest from the time of canopy closure. Andrea Rabbi Poster 2021

ADTS for high resolution monitoring of soil moisture at the field scale - Dr Giulio Curioni. Poster 2020

The dependency of Hyporheic Nutrient Cycling on Season and Sediment Type - S Comer-Warner, D Gooddy and S Krause. Poster 2019

Temperature and Turbidity Effects on the Fluorescence Intensity of Uranine, Resazurin and Resorufin- Nicolai Brekenfeld. Poster 2019

High frequency monitoring of catchment nutrient exports - Dr Phil Blaen. Poster 2018

Modelling the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Stream Temperature in a Mixed-Use Farmland Catchment - Han Qui, Philip Blaen, David Hannah, Stefan Krause and Manthan Phanikumar. Poster 2018

Microbial Processes & Biomarkers

Project specific measurements

soil fungal metagenomics
macrofungi surveys
n-alkanes

Example projects

Fungi of the future - PhD student Aileen Baird. Presentation 2020

Bioeaorsoals at BIFoR FACE - PhD student Aileen Baird. Poster 2021

Leaf waxes: tracking past climate and plant metabolism - PhD student Bridget Warren. Poster 2021

Listen to Bridget talk about her research

Bridget Warren

Future climate: Future pollen and spores by Sophie Mills. Poster 2021

Plant health and plant diseases

Visit our Forest Health Research page for further information.

Some example projects follow:

The transgenerational impact of elevated CO2 on oak progeny growth and development by Mark Raw. Poster 2021

Investigating the effect of mixed plantations in resistance to ash dieback disease by Iwan Evans. Poster 2020

Everyone completing research at BIFoR FACE needs to read & agree to the BIFoR FACE Intellectual Property and Data Protocol in advance of starting research. In summary the maximum scientific exploitation of BIFoR FACE depends on the collaborative utilisation of all data collected at BIFoR FACE for research. The BIFoR FACE science community believe and advocate transparency in science assured through open data after an agreed period of privileged use. All data acquired through BIFoR FACE projects will be deposited in a shared database in good time and with appropriate accompanying metadata after consultation with the BIFoR Data Manager. A scientist sharing data does not relinquish ownership of that data but recognises that all BIFoR FACE data will become open data, with due care taken to record data provenance, in a timely manner in order to ensure transparency, to be compatible with the requirements of funding agencies, and to accelerate scientific advance.

Inside a FACE array - Dr Rick Thomas and Anna Gardner describe some of the experiments

Research here

Add your own research experiment /how to use BIFoR FACE data already gathered "Research here"

pipework

BIFoR FACE

Back to the BIFoR FACE home page

array from flux tower 2above