Functional differentiation in response to environmental variability in two contrasting shrub line species of high-altitude Himalaya

Project Information

HimFunDiff

Grant agreement ID: 101038052

DOI

10.3030/101038052

Project closed

EC signature date 2 April 2021

Start date 1 April 2021

End date 31 March 2023

Funded under

• SPREADING EXCELLENCE AND WIDENING PARTICIPATION

Total cost

€ 156 980,64

EU contribution

€ 156 980,64

Coordinated by

BOTANICKY USTAV AV CR, V.V.I.
Czechia

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HimFunDiff (Functional differentiation in response to environmental variability in two contrasting shrub line species of high-altitude Himalaya)

Reporting period: 2021-04-01 to 2023-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The major aim of the proposal was to obtain novel insights into the ability of plant species to adapt to changing climatic conditions by exploring their functional differentiation along natural gradients. We aimed to elucidate adaptive strategies of long-lived shrub-line forming species with contrasting strategies to changing climatic conditions (in natural experimental settings). The study will enable to analyse the direction and magnitude of the shift in trait values due to climatic factors and elucidate the relative role of various factors causing functional trait variability. This study is based on a combination of studying plant morphological and metabolomic responses along natural gradients along with studying plant growth rings. This allows to test for the link between species traits and climatic conditions, at short and long temporal scales. In addition, the project aimed to test if the functional responses of single species to climatic variability can be generalized to whole communities.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The research of the project was done in 2 work packages (WP1 and WP2). WP1 started with the selection of different plant populations distributed along climatic gradients of temperature and precipitation in the Himalaya. Following the identification and selection of plant populations, we installed climatic dataloggers to record climatic data from these populations (starting in the Summer of 2021 and is continued even after the end of the project). From each of the plant populations, we estimated different morphological plant functional traits (leaf and twigs). We also analysed the leaf samples for untargeted metabolite profiling using LC-MS. During the metabolome analysis, we standardized the method for untargeted metabolomics. We also collected soil samples from each of the populations and downloaded the climatic data from installed dataloggers in summer 2022.
The statistical tests based on the recorded data reveal that different plant populations show functional differentiation. We also analysed the role of climate, soil properties and plant morphology on leaf metabolomic differentiation and analysis revealed that climatic factors (temperature and soil moisture) were the major factors determining metabolomic differentiation and morphology is only poorly linked to metabolome. In the variation of leaf and twig traits, we found that climatic responses and tradeoffs in leaf and twig trait variation were not similar.
We also recorded the abundance of all the plants other than the focal species in all the localities and recorded their different morphological traits. Currently, the generated data is being statistically analysed for preparing scientific manuscript.
WP2 comprised analysing plant responses to climatic variability along climatic gradients using plant growth rings to find evidence of linkage between climatic factors and plant growth and short and long temporal scales. For this, we characterized the plant growth rings, estimated standardized growth chronologies, and estimated changes in basal area increment in each studied individual over their entire life. We then tested for the linkage between climatic factors and plant growth using different statistical tests (correlation analysis, linear models). Our tests revealed significant effects of climatic factors on plant growth and basal area increment. Tests also revealed that the effects of climatic factors were inconsistent across different populations.
During the project work, I supervised 3 fieldwork internships for post-MSc students. Students were involved in plant sampling and trait measurements. All three students gained an interest in ecological sciences and opted for going to research in fields complementary to the experience they gained during the internship.
I received training in Eco-metabolomics in 2021 via a course offered by German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig and on Species distribution modelling (during the secondment period) at Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ Halle, Germany. I also received training under the Mentoring programme offered by the host institute for my professional development. I also attended workshops on publishing tips for researchers (including open-access publishing) organised by Wiley and a statistics seminar organised by Highland Statistics. Other training activities include analysis of data, writing manuscripts, writing project proposals to secure future funding and management of research project.
We expected 3 publications from the project. The data needed for the planned publications have already been collected and the publications are under preparation. The publications will be communicated to scientific journals in the coming months. Two of the three publications are in the writing phase. The work has already been presented at three international conferences. The work was also presented as an invited speaker at Student Seminar Series 2022 at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) situated at Palampur (HP), India. I also interacted with the non-scientific audience during fieldwork and made healthy discussions to create awareness among local people in the Himalayan remote villages. I was also active on Twitter and was popularizing the science on social media vis posts related to own project work as well as other general information related to climate change impacts to create awareness in the people in his social network.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

This MSCA project aimed at obtaining novel insights into the ability of plant species to adapt to changing climatic conditions by exploring their functional differentiation. Innovative aspects of the project included: 1. Using multiple populations distributed along a factorially crossed combination of temperature and precipitation in this study and establishment of the climatic grid with ongoing monitoring of temperature and soil moisture; 2. Implementation of eco-metabolomics approach using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for studying plant responses to climatic factors; 3. Studying plant growth rings along climatic gradients to link climatic factors and plant growth at spatial and temporal scales. The research during the project clearly demonstrated the potential of the ecometabolomics approach in understanding the effects of climatic factors on plants. The metabolome captures the effects that are not captured by morphology as both morphology and metabolome were not strongly linked to each other. Further, our findings on non-uniform growth responses to climatic factors in different plant populations are important and have implications for understanding the population-specific effects of climate change.
Activities via discussions with non-scientific audiences and via social media were aimed to create awareness and it will be continued by the researcher after the project also.
During the project, the researcher was able to successfully create his scientific network with many different researchers from different nationalities. This will be helpful for the researcher in long-term career prospects and rapidly gaining visibility. The data generated by the researcher is also submitted to big international research networks (SPlots and SoilTemp) to get additional publications from the project and increased the networking of the researcher.

Image from field work

Presenting work in a conference

In a weekly group meeting

On field work