When fire and water mix: do carbon dioxide-related water savings drive woody plant thickening and fire dynamics in a grassy woodland?
Funding period: 2013-2016
Funding agency: Australian Research Council Discovery
Project leader, researchers and collaborators: Prof David Ellsworth (Lead), Prof Matthias Boer, Prof Victor Resco de Dios and Prof Em Ross Bradstock
Project summary: The study involves a pioneering field experiment to test the effects of elevated CO2, providing the first strong evidence on how water savings induced by increased CO2 alter the abundance of grasses and shrubs (promote “woody thickening”, in other words) and affect woodlands flammability.