Project description
The role of height in a tree’s response to drought
Trees adjust to drought conditions by reducing leaf transpiration and, in turn, sap flow, preventing extensive water loss and embolism. Tall trees are more sensitive to drought stress; however, the mechanisms behind this higher vulnerability are not yet fully understood. The DISTRESS project aims at looking at Darcy’s law of fluid flow to determine tree height’s influence on short- and long-term responses to drought. Through the analysis of different traits in tropical trees and sap flow data from 159 species from different biomes, DISTRESS will lead to a better understanding of tree vulnerability to drought and contribute to better simulations of the effect of climate change on forest ecosystems.
Objective
Plants adjust leaf water potential and hydraulic conductance under drought through stomatal behaviour, reducing sap flow and protecting plants from extensive water loss and embolism. Due to the negative effect that vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and tree height have on canopy-scale water conductance (G), Darcy’s law predicts a decline in G due to the expected increase in VPD following climate warming, to which tall trees would be presumably more sensitive. Further work is thus needed to understand the effect that tree size has on tree response to increased VPD and drought. This project aims at (1) testing whether, at a given VPD, trees adjust different functional traits to compensate for the negative effect of height on G in (a) tropical forests and (b) at a global scale, and (2) describing the mechanisms behind these adjustments and the potential interactions with other functional processes that may impair tree response to drought stress with increasing size. We will first measure multiple functional traits (including sap flux, gas exchange and leaf and xylem water potential) on trees of different heights to test Darcy’s law predictions and evaluate the role that the trade-offs among traits play on enhanced vulnerability to drought with increasing tree size in tropical forests. In order to assess whether the studied mechanisms prevail across species and ecosystems, we will perform a global-scale analysis of sap-flow and, thus, G responses to VPD as a function of tree height using the sap-flux data from 159 species and nine different biomes gathered within SAPFLUXNET. This integrated analysis will provide a better understanding of the role that tree size plays in tree vulnerability to drought in the short (temporary physiological response) and long term (legacy effects), allowing the improvement of mechanistic models of tree response to climatic variability. Such information is essential to better simulate the impact that climate change may have on forest ecosystems.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine angiology vascular diseases
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- social sciences law
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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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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018
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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.
08193 BELLATERRA
Spain
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.