Terrestrial ecosystems have two kinds of food webs: green food webs and brown food webs. Green food webs are above the ground, whereas brown food webs are the ones in soils. Both food webs are connected mainly via plants, and the interactions between the two food webs are major determinants of terrestrial ecosystem functioning. Climate warming could differentially affect the two food webs given some fundamental differences in their key characteristics. This could eventually lead to alterations in the interaction between the two food webs. We perform experiments to understand the causes and consequences of green-brown imbalance by manipulating warming and drought. Moreover, we are building a research facility to study long-term consequences of green-brown interactions on terrestrial ecosystem functioning (more updates on this to follow soon).
