Objective Many temperate forests are considered to be in an equilibrium state to which they return after a disturbance. Interactions between tree functional traits and disturbances in shaping forest composition and structure have mainly focused on spatially discrete disturbances, e.g. gaps, fire. Other disturbances occurring at relatively larger spatial scale, e.g. drought, might have diffuse but long lasting effects so that current forest structure reflects legacies from past ecological and climatic conditions. This project will examine relationships between climate and forest structure and composition through an integrated study combining multi-century climate reconstructions, forest disturbance histories, and cutting-edge forest succession models along environmental gradients in temperate rainforests. This strategy will be applied to the temperate rainforests of northeastern Turkey which are some of the few remnants of old growth forests in Western Eurasia and are seriously endangered by global change and anthropogenic disturbances. Understanding within-community variation in the species responses to climate and examining historical climate at a temporal scale relevant to tree recruitment and canopy dieback are essential steps to analyze how forests will respond to global change. The combination of paleoecological and modelling approaches will allow investigating multiple climate effects on the ecology of these forests under changing environmental conditions. A deeper understanding of ecological processes under a combination of complex disturbances will provide critical and long-term perspectives on the role of climate variability in causing vegetation changes in these ecosystems where global change is expected to lead to more frequent and intense droughts. Fields of science humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorynatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changesagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestry 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 EIDGENOESSISCHE TECHNISCHE HOCHSCHULE ZUERICH EU contribution € 192 622,20 Address Raemistrasse 101 8092 Zuerich Switzerland See on map Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Harald Bugmann (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
