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In ecotoxicological research, we study how toxic chemicals entering the environment can affect plants, animals, and entire ecosystems. To understand how those contaminants harm organisms, we generally start with experiments conducted in a safe laboratory environment. In these laboratory experiments, different organisms are exposed to different concentrations of the environmental contaminant of interest.

Forests provide a habitat for many species and forests also store a large amount of carbon. This means that healthy forests can slow down climate change by taking up and storing some of the excess carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere. It is therefore really important to understand how forests respond to climate change. Do forests grow better and healthier with the changing climate or do forests suffer under climate change? Past research into that topic has been somewhat inconclusive.