Objective
Fire first appeared in the biosphere during the early colonization of land by plants and has persisted with varying frequencies and intensities across time and space. However, the evolutionary dynamics between plants and fire remain largely overlooked. Frequent and stable fire regimes select for traits that enhance plant persistence, but the timing and drivers of these evolutionary transitions are still unresolved. FIRESHIFTS aims to elucidate the evolutionary role of fire by dating the acquisition and loss of fire-adaptive traits, thereby identifying when changes in fire regimes were sufficient to drive evolutionary shifts. These fire regime shifts are expected to reflect major transitions in Earth’s biogeographic history.
To address this, FIRESHIFTS focuses on the Mediterranean biome, targeting five plant clades that represent post-fire recruiting species with variability in fire-adaptive traits and spanning multiple continents: Ceanothus and Arctostaphylos (North America), Anthyllis and the family Cistaceae (Mediterranean Basin and surroundings), and the globally distributed Rhamnaceae. For each clade, we will conduct extensive field sampling, perform large-scale fire germination experiments, compile a functional trait database, and build highly resolved phylogenies using modern genomic tools. A global network of collaborators will support a comprehensive sampling of Rhamnaceae.
By integrating phylogenetic, functional, and ecological data, we will reconstruct lineage-specific evolutionary trajectories and pinpoint key fire regime shifts. Comparative analyses within and across continents and hemispheres will provide an unprecedented perspective on the evolutionary role of fire in assembling the Mediterranean biome. Through this innovative framework, FIRESHIFTS will result in a global view of evolutionary fire regime shifts that describe some of the major fire transitions in Earth’s biodiversity.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biological morphology comparative morphology
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences meteorology biosphera
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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)
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Topic(s)
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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
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-ADG
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28006 Madrid
Spain
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