Forest microclimate - neglected link between plant diversity and climate change
| Name: | Forest microclimate - neglected link between plant diversity and climate change |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Wild Jan (researcher) Klinerová Tereza (member in research team) Macek Martin (member in research team) Hederová Lucia (member in research team) Kopecký Martin (member in research team) Müllerová Jana (member in research team) Brůna Josef (member in research team) |
| Provider: | Grantová agentura České republiky |
| Number: | GA17-13998S |
| Realization from: | 2017 |
| Realization to: | 2019 |
| Summary: | Microclimate experienced by organisms is crucial ecological factor. In forests, microclimate is mostly driven by local variation in canopy cover, and is so different from climate outside forest, that it probably modulates the effect of climate change. As canopy cover is directly modified by forest management, this can be potentially used to mitigate climate change impact on forest biota. However, the link between canopy cover and effect of climate change is based mostly on indirect evidence. In our project we will concurrently measure soil and air temperature, moisture, light and plant species diversity in large network of forest vegetation plots. This will allow us to: 1) relate microclimate to gradient of forest canopy cover, 2) reveal plant diversity response to thermal microclimate and disentangle its effects from available light, and 3) establish the link between climate observed below and at the canopy surface. With this knowledge we can evaluate the potential of forest canopy to modify the effect of climate change on forest understory biodiversity. |