Project description
Understanding mixed forests' response to drought can help predict impacts of climate change
Droughts are expected to become more frequent and intense in many parts of the world. When trees die during droughts, less carbon is stored in forests, thus worsening climate change. Therefore, for scientists to be able to predict the socioeconomic and ecological impacts of climate change and inform conservation strategies, forest responses need to be modelled to droughts. However, current models are ineffective for mixed forests due to their diverse species and functional traits. To address this problem, the EU-funded FORECAST project aims to develop a model for mixed forests based on known biophysical constraints, plant functional traits and optimisation theory. The model will also be used to guide the conservation of the mixed Mediterranean forest Hayedo de Montejo, a World Heritage Site.
Objective
The frequency and intensity of droughts are expected to increase in many regions of the world due to global climate change. Droughts can lead to widespread tree mortality, leading to a loss of carbon stored in forests that will feedback to exacerbate climate change. Thus, modelling forest responses to drought is critical for predicting climate change socio-economic and ecological impacts and informing conservation strategies. However, current models are not capable of adequately representing forest responses to drought, especially for mixed forests due to their diversity in species and functional traits. The proposed research intends to solve this problem by developing a model for mixed forests based on known biophysical constraints, plant functional traits and optimization theory. The model’s performance will be evaluated with (1) detailed measurements at Hayedo de Montejo (HM), a mixed Mediterranean forest with diverse functional traits, (2) data from a network of eddy-covariance towers that measure ecosystem fluxes, and (3) mortality data from two national forest inventories that span a wide range of forest types. Next, the model will be used for forecasting the vulnerability of HM to different climate change scenarios for guiding the conservation of this World Heritage Site.
I will develop this project at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, one of Europe’s leading academic institutions. A secondment at Centro de Investigación Ecológica y Aplicaciones Forestales (Barcelona) will allow me to learn new modelling approaches, gain access to global plant databases, and establish new collaborations. A secondment at Dirección General de Medio Ambiente y Sostenibilidad de la Comunidad de Madrid, a non-academic institution in charge of HM’s management, will ensure intersectoral transfer of knowledge among scientists, educators, managers and policy makers. This MSCA will facilitate my return to Europe and enhance my chances of obtaining a permanent position in Europe.
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 educational sciences didactics
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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-2019
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
28040 MADRID
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.