Objective "Climate change and the massive alteration of natural habitats are major drivers of land degradation. Their effects may be especially significant in drylands, where ecosystems are particularly sensitive to degradation, usually involving irreversible landscape changes (i.e. desertification). A common form of desertification in drylands includes the encroachment of shrub species into historic productive desert grasslands. An array of mechanisms are involved in shrub encroachment processes, including external triggering factors such as climate and land-use variations, and endogenous amplifying mechanisms brought about by soil erosion-vegetation feedbacks. Within this context, the present mobility project will investigate grassland-shrubland transitions in desert environments. The ambitious objective of this project is to develop an ecogeomorphic framework for the analysis and prediction of rapid vegetation shifts in semi-arid grasslands threatened by shrub encroachment processes. The project will be hosted by Durham University (UK) and will focus on grassland-shrubland transitions in the Chihuahuan desert, taking advantage of the information and facilities available at the Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research Station (New Mexico, USA). The influence of a variety of triggering factors (i.e. precipitation variations and grazing) and the impact of soil erosion-vegetation amplifying feedbacks on these vegetation changes will be studied using an innovative approach that will integrate both remote sensing information of vegetation phenology and experimental data across different scales; with ecogeomorphic modelling and robust model testing against existing data sets. The results of this project will contribute to the understanding of the processes that regulate the dramatic changes that are taking place in arid and semiarid landscapes worldwide, and will provide practical tools for the management of dryland landscapes threatened by desertification." Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesbotanydendrology Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF - Marie-Curie Action: "Intra-European fellowships for career development" Call for proposal FP7-PEOPLE-2012-IEF See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MC-IEF - Intra-European Fellowships (IEF) Coordinator UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM EU contribution € 231 283,20 Address STOCKTON ROAD THE PALATINE CENTRE DH1 3LE Durham United Kingdom See on map Region North East (England) Tees Valley and Durham Durham CC Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Wendy Harle (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
