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Doctor Alexis Renchon

Candidature

Graduated PhD 2019

Thesis title

Constraints on Ecosystem Carbon and Water Flux Estimates in Temperate Australian Evergreen Forest

Research project

Alexis RenchonThe carbon cycle plays a primary role in climate change. Natural ecosystems mitigate the rise of atmospheric CO2 by sequestrating more carbon via photosynthesis than emitting carbon via respiration. To date, we can only directly measure the net exchange of CO2 between an ecosystem and the atmosphere (NEE) via the eddy-covariance method. We partition daytime NEE into gross ecosystem production and ecosystem respiration using climatic driver of nighttime NEE (when only respiration occur). These partitioning methods have been defined mostly by studying deciduous and boreal ecosystems, but their transferability to evergreen ecosystems may not be valid. I will test and modify standard partitioning methods in Australian temperate eucalypt forests. Gross ecosystem production will be compared with a mechanistic model which bridges the leaf to ecosystem scale. This will help to identify critical conditions where there is a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing gross ecosystem production that will aid directing future studies. Ultimately, my PhD will improve our understanding of ecosystem carbon budgets in Australian ecosystems.

Publications

Renchon AA, Drake JE, Macdonald CA, Sihi D, Hinko-Najera N, Tjoelker MG, Arndt SK, Noh NJ, Davidson E, Pendall E, (2021) 'Concurrent Measurements of Soil and Ecosystem Respiration in a Mature Eucalypt Woodland: Advantages, Lessons, and Questions', Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, vol.126, no.3, Article no.e2020JG006221

Griebel A, Metzen D, Boer MM, Barton CVM, Renchon AA, Andrews HM, Pendall E, (2020) 'Using a paired tower approach and remote sensing to assess carbon sequestration and energy distribution in a heterogeneous sclerophyll forest', Science of the Total Environment, vol.699, Article no.133918

Jiang M, Medlyn BE, Drake JE, Duursma RA, Anderson IC, Barton CVM, Boer MM, Carrillo Y, Castaneda-Gomez L, Collins L, Crous KY, De Kauwe MG, dos Santos BM, Emmerson KM, Facey SL, Gherlenda AN, Gimeno TE, Hasegawa S, Johnson SN, Kannaste A, Macdonald CA, Mahmud K, Moore BD, Nazaries L, Neilson EHJ, Nielsen UN, Niinemets U, Noh NJ, Ochoa-Hueso R, Pathare VS, Pendall E, Pihlblad J, Pineiro J, Powell JR, Power SA, Reich PB, Renchon AA, Riegler M, Rinnan R, Rymer PD, Salomon RL, Singh BK, Smith B, Tjoelker MG, Walker JKM, Wujeska-Klause A, Yang JY, Zaehle S, Ellsworth DS, (2020) 'The fate of carbon in a mature forest under carbon dioxide enrichment', Nature, vol.580, no.7802, pp 227-231

Renchon AA, Griebel A, Metzen D, Williams CA, Medlyn B, Duursma RA, Barton CVM, Maier C, Boer MM, Isaac P, Tissue D, de Dios VR, Pendall E, (2018) 'Upside-down fluxes Down Under: CO2 net sink in winter and net source in summer in a temperate evergreen broadleaf forest', Biogeosciences, vol.15, no.12, pp 3703-3716

Leopold A, Marchand C, Renchon A, Deborde J, Quiniou T, Allenbach M, (2016) 'Net ecosystem CO2 exchange in the "Coeur de Voh" mangrove, New Caledonia: Effects of water stress on mangrove productivity in a semi-arid climate', Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, vol.223, pp 217-232

Supervisors

Professor Elise Pendall, Professor Belinda Medlyn and A/Professor Matthias Boer