Impacts of climate, N and P deposition and land use on water as a driver of the greenhouse gases regulatory ecosystem service in headwater catchments

This project aims to enhance our understanding of the role of water in headwater catchments´ functioning regarding the regulation of atmospheric CO2, as well as other climate-relevant gases (CH4, N2O, BVOC).

The project aims to assess the social and economic value of these ecosystem services to inform policy and decision-making.

To achieve this, the project will be organized into five work packages, which aim at: 1- Improving the consideration of CO2 regulation ecosystem services in relevant policies, conducting social and economic valuations, and fostering awareness through co-creation with researchers and stakeholders. 2- Reanalyzing, meta-analyzing, and modeling long-term data series to gain insights into the role of catchments in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. 3- Developing innovative approaches and cost-effective technology for monitoring greenhouse gas fluxes, with a focus on high-resolution measurements. 4- Conducting field measurements throughout the seasonal cycle in a network of headwater catchments across Europe, considering climate, N-P deposition gradients, and local land use effects, to determine the balance of CO2 and other climate-relevant gases inferred from their fluxes. 5- Communicating project results to policy-makers, environmental managers, authorities, the general public, and the scientific community.