Project description
How land use alters soil resilience to drought
European grasslands provide critical ecosystem services. However, land use intensification on productive soil and abandonment of unfertile land deteriorate ecosystem services. Recent studies suggest that land use change causes genetic and phenotypic changes in plant populations. The mechanism behind these changes is unknown. The EU-funded PlantSoilAdapt project will test the hypothesis that land use intensification and abandonment lead to evolutionary changes in plant function. It will explore the consequences of adaptation for soil functioning and resilience to drought. PlantSoilAdapt will perform laboratory tests of the mechanisms underlying eco evolutionary dynamics in plant-soil interactions during land use change and community-level experiments in three different European regions.
Objective
European grasslands have been shaped by millennia of low-intensity management and are unique cultural and biodiversity hotspots providing critical ecosystem services. However, the area of traditionally-managed grassland has declined dramatically during the last century, with land-use intensification on productive soil and abandonment of unfertile land both causing species loss and deterioration of ecosystem services. Recent evidence suggests that land-use change also leads to genetic and phenotypic changes in plant populations. How population-level processes mediate the impact of land use on ecosystem functions and affect adaptive potential to future perturbations is entirely unknown. Filling this knowledge gap is urgent as grasslands face additional pressure from climate change, particularly an increasing frequency of droughts. I hypothesise that land use intensification and abandonment lead to evolutionary shifts in plant function away from resource conservation towards fast resource acquisition and low stress tolerance. Combined with the disruption of co-evolved mutualistic plant-microbial interactions, this has cascading effects on essential ecosystem services provided by soils and their resilience to drought-induced perturbation. The hypothesis will be tested using laboratory tests of the mechanisms underlying eco-evolutionary dynamics in plant-soil interactions during land-use change and community-level experiments to uncover the consequences of adaptation for soil functioning and resilience to drought. I will use the world's longest-running fertilization experiment and grassland networks in three European regions, representing different histories and contrasting management regimes. The project will provide a step-change in our understanding of the selective pressures imposed on plant-soil systems by human land use and will inform future policies for sustainable land management and maintenance of adaptive potential in the face of climate change.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2021-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
51005 TARTU
Estonia
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.