Measuring the effects of elevated temperatures and carbon dioxide fertilization on soil carbon storage

This thesis research strives to measure how elevated temperature and CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} levels alter soil carbon storage. The thesis research centers on an open-top chamber experiment that was conducted at Oak Ridge National Lab. The chambers exposed maple saplings to ambient and +300 ppm CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} levels, and ambient {dollar}{lcub}+{rcub}4spcirc{dollar}C temperatures for four growing seasons. This was the first experiment to put the variables of temperature and CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} together. The results showed carbon sequestration for the elevated CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} treatments. The chamber with only elevated CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} showed an increase of 0.101g/cm{dollar}sb2{dollar} and the chamber with both elevated temperatures and elevated CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} showed an increase of 0.086g/cm{dollar}sb2.{dollar} CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} fertilization may be transferring large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere to the soil thus slowing the increase in atmospheric CO{dollar}sb2{dollar} build-up.