ECOPHYS is a complex computer model designed to model the growth of Populus trees. We've recently been studying Populus Tremuloides (also known as trembling aspen or quaking aspen).

The primary purposes of ECOPHYS include:

• Identifying physiologically based factors that influence the growth of Populus
• Developing and testing theories of tree-growth response to environmental change
• Predicting forest ecosystem response to stress (competition, climate change, air pollution)
• Providing a general theory of tree growth

The ECOPHYS research group has been in collaboration with members of the Aspen Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) experiment. At the FACE experiment, aspen trees (as well as birch and maple) are being grown under elevated carbon dioxide and elevated ozone to observe the effects these gases have on tree growth.

ECOPHYS is funded through the National Science Foundation Computational Biology Program, the US Department of Energy, and the USFS Northern Global Change Program.

For more information, contact George Host.