Search for projects with tag "forest structure"
[ID: 321] Pollinator activity
PI: Per-Ola Hedwall
Interactions between macroclimate and forest tree canopies drive many of the ecosystem processes which dictate the development of understorey species distributions, and the related ecosystem services. However, despite their importance, current knowledge is insufficient to allow managers to accurately project the combined implications of tree species composition and climate for understorey communities, and the potential for refugia and dispersal barriers, as well as phenology mismatches, to develop under future climates. To fill these knowledge gaps we will use a trans-European network of climate observation sites set in forest understories to establish cameras and traps for surveillance of plants and pollinators, DNA analyses to study plant-pollinator interactions, and translocate plants adapted to colder climates. These sites enable us to exchange space for time by replicating along a macroclimatic gradient from Belgium to northern Sweden, varying over 10 °C in mean annual temperature. This climate gradient, in combination with varying forest density and tree species composition, will enable us to decipher the interactions and processes operating among microclimate, vegetation, and plant as well as pollinator phenology. By teasing out these drivers, processes, and their implications for understorey ecosystem services, our project will fill a knowledge gap vital to understanding two of the prime determinants of global change; a changing climate and changing land-use.