Benedikt Fest
Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science
The University of Melbourne, Creswick Campus
Water Street, Creswick, VIC 3363, Australia
Email: b.fest@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au
Degree
PhD
Thesis title
Methane oxidation in temperate upland forest systems of south-eastern Australia
Supervisors
Dr Stefan Arndt
Dr Steve Livesley
Project Outline
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and methane oxidation by soil methanotrophic bacteria is the most important terrestrial sink for atmospheric methane, offsetting some of the large methane emissions from Australian agriculture. Soil methane oxidation of temperate Australian forest soils may contribute significantly to the national greenhouse gas inventory, but the methane uptake capacity of these soils is mostly unknown. This is mainly due to a lack of seasonal methane flux studies, long-term methane flux studies and a general lack of understanding of factors and processes controlling methane oxidation. Furthermore there is nearly no information available about the methanotrophic bacteria responsible for methane oxidation in these forest systems.
This PhD project will address these important knowledge gaps by investigating (1) methane oxidation rates in different temperate forest soils of SE Australia (2) the two processes thought to play a major role in controlling methane uptake – methane diffusivity into and through soils and the activity of methanotrophic bacteria and (3) the community structure of methanotrophic bacteria in these forest systems
Publications
Fest BJ, Livesley SJ, Beringer JB, Drösler M, Arndt, SK (2009). Mountain Ash Forest Symposium: Soil based greenhouse gas fluxes at Wallaby Creek – magnitude, spatial and temporal variability. (Oral presentation)
Fest BJ, Livesley SJ, Drösler M, van Gorsel E, & Arndt SK (2009). Soil-atmosphere greenhouse gas exchange in a cool, temperate Eucalyptus delegatensis forest in south-eastern Australia. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 149(3-4), 393-406
Benedikt J Fest, Stephen J Livesley, Matthias Drösler, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ray Leuning and Stefan K Arndt (2007) Non-CO2 Greenhouse gas Emissions in native Ecosystems: Spatial variation of Nitrous oxide and methane emissions in a cool temperate Eucalyptus forest in Tumbarumba, Australia. (Poster)
Link to Postgraduate index page