Project description
How drought influences tropical tree mortality
Tropical forest mortality increases due to climate change, particularly in drought conditions and rising heat. Little is known about how and to what extent drought and heat affect tree mortality. Rwanda is a developing country that has suffered wide-scale deforestation. The EU-funded TTMCC project proposes to study how drought and heat affect tropical tree mortality. The research will be done in three regions in Rwanda with different climatic conditions. In addition, the flora of the three regions selected presents a variety of trees and plants. The results will help predict and prevent tropical tree mortality.
Objective
Climate change increases tree mortality worldwide, and in tropical forests in particular. While it is established that tropical tree mortality increases under hot and dry conditions, key questions regarding why and how remain unresolved. Which traits predispose trees to mortality? How does drought and heat interact to affect tropical tree growth and survival under field conditions? The overall goal of my project is to determine the sensitivity of tropical tree species to heat and drought, and based on this knowledge develop a trait-based tree mortality model that can be used to provide recommendations on which trees are suitable to different climatic regions in Rwanda, central Africa. Such recommendations are crucial for reforestation programs and climate change adaptation in Rwanda, a low-income country which has been heavily deforested in the past. To achieve this goal, I will identify which tree traits (structural, hydraulic, physiological, biochemical) that control the vitality and survival of tropical trees in multi-species plantations established at three sites in Rwanda. The sites exhibit large natural variation in precipitation and temperature, and experimental manipulations of water supply (irrigation, rainfall exclusion) are imposed at each site. Traits will be determined using a broad range of gas exchange, hydraulic and biochemical methods in the field as well as in the lab. A multi-trait model of drought- and heat-induced tree mortality will be derived based on data from the experimental sites, and evaluated using independent data from additional sites with larger trees. Based on this model, I will provide tree plantation recommendations to relevant stakeholders in Rwanda and the region. By bringing together perspectives from experimental ecology and vegetation modelling to address critical knowledge gaps this projects will make original contributions to improve the understanding and predictability of tropical tree mortality in a changing climate.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climate change adaptation
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture horticulture arboriculture
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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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-EF-ST - Standard EF
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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.
405 30 Goeteborg
Sweden
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.