The Postgraduate Programme in “Environmental Conservation and Management” and the Terrestrial Ecosystems Management Laboratory of the Open University of Cyprus are co-organising during the 2022/23 academic year their 5th Lecture Series with main theme “Women and Environmental Sciences”. On October 26, 2022, Dr Chiara Ferré, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milano Bicocca, will deliver an open hybrid talk entitled “The Role of Soils in Climate Regulation”.
For interested academics, researchers, and students of environmental sciences residing in Cyprus, the lecture will be held at the OUC Main Building in Latsia, Nicosia, while it will also be broadcasted live through the OUC eLearning Platform at this web link: https://bit.ly/3fJUO3K at 18:00 EEST (Cyprus local time).
Climate regulation is one of the many ecosystem services provided by soil, which is a very important element of the climate system, as it represents the earth's largest reservoir of organic carbon. In terms of carbon storage, not all soils are equal: forest soils, grasslands and peatlands represent important organic carbon sinks, while in cultivated soils the stock of soil organic carbon (SOC) is usually low; in urban areas it has rarely been quantified, but contrary to what one might think, urban soils can store even significant amounts. In her presentation, Dr Chiara Ferré will present examples of SOC storage in different ecosystems, such as: (i) alpine grasslands, where vegetation and topography are the environmental factors that most influence the quantity, quality and distribution of SOC; (ii) croplands, where carbon is influenced by agronomic management; and (iii) urban areas, with differences in SOC stock between land uses.
Dr Chiara Ferré obtained her PhD in Environmental Sciences in 2009 at the University of Milano Bicocca, where she undertook postdoctoral research as well. Since 2021, she is a researcher in Geopedology at the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milano Bicocca. She is an expert in environmental functions of soils with focus on carbon storage, spatial variability, soil-plant relationships and degradation processes. Since 2017, she is also a Lecturer at undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the University of Milano Bicocca and the Polytechnic University of Milan. Dr Ferré is also actively involved in pedological surveys and research activities in regional and national projects.
The 5th Lecture Series is supported by the Office of the Commissioner for the Environment of the Republic of Cyprus.
Registration for certificates of attendance: https://forms.office.com/r/hbPwKpsGsK