Geography Seminar - Dr. Alina Premrov

Dr Alina Premrov
Thursday, February 10, 2022 - 12:00 to 13:00
Online via Teams

Join us at our Seminar by Dr. Alina Premov - Modelling soil organic carbon stocks and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems

February 10th from 12noon on Teams. 

Soils are a very important component of the terrestrial carbon cycle and can act both as a carbon sink or source.  There is an urgent need to provide practical land-based solutions for climate mitigation through development of sustainable management practices in different terrestrial ecosystem, such as agricultural systems and peatlands. To achieve this, we rapidly need to enhance our understanding of how different land use and management can influence soil carbon dynamics over different spatial and temporal scales and climate scenarios. Modelling approaches are known to be useful tools for improving our understanding of soil carbon dynamics and have significant potential to provide an effective way to quantify the effects of management practices and land use on carbon sequestration. This presentation will provide insights from the following collection of modelling studies involving different terrestrial ecosystems, performed under different past research-projects: 1. insights into adaptation of the trapezoidal rule computation approach, for assessing fixed depth soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks in soils sampled by horizon from afforested land (CForRep-project); 2. insights into ECOSSE biogeochemical process-based modelling of SOC from Irish grassland systems (SOLUM-project); 3. development of new drainage factor in ECOSSE model to improve water dynamics and prediction of CO2 fluxes from drained peatlands (AUGER-project). Discussed will be some main findings, challenges, and opportunities.
 
Dr Alina Premrov joined the ICARUS - Department of Geography, Maynooth University in November 2021, where she has undertaken a temporary lecturing role. At the same time, she is also pursuing research on estimating pesticide risks in soils under the PROTECTS project in TCD. She is a PhD graduate from Trinity College Dublin (2011).  Previously she worked on collaborative research projects in Trinity College Dublin (TCD)  - SOLUM project, and in University College Dublin (UCD) - AUGER and CForRep projects. Her research interests focus on gaining better understanding of dynamics and functioning of biogeochemical processes in terrestrial ecosystems using different modelling tools (including empirical and process-based models). Special emphasis is placed on assessing these processes in relation to soils and land-use/management practices and their implications for mitigating climate change and environmental pollution. Her current and past research spans a variety of areas that include  (among others) modelling of greenhouse gas emissions and soil organic carbon stocks and carbon stock changes in terrestrial ecosystems, as well as areas of agricultural diffuse pollution, including areas of environmental hydrology and groundwater quality, and areas of nutrient dynamics (N and C) .