Project description
A closer look at how climate warming affects tundra plant traits
There are no trees in the Arctic tundra region. The climate is cold and windy, and rainfall is rare. Covered in snow for much of the year, climate warming is changing vegetation. While warmer temperatures enhance plant photosynthetic uptake of atmospheric CO2, they also promote microbial decomposition of the vast permafrost carbon pool. This releases greenhouse gases to the atmosphere in a positive feedback loop. The EU-funded WarmTraits project will study how climate warming will affect tundra plant traits. To forecast ecosystem impacts, the project will conduct a long-term experiment where greenhouses have warmed tundra plots for 1, 11 and 21 years. It will also quantify the mechanistic effects of increasing climate warming duration on a suite of above- and belowground plant functional traits.
Objective
Climate warming is changing vegetation across the Arctic tundra region. Warmer temperatures enhance plant photosynthetic uptake of atmospheric CO2 but warming also promotes microbial decomposition of the vast permafrost carbon pool, releasing greenhouse gases to the atmosphere in a positive feedback-loop. In addition to temperature, changes in plant composition also strongly affect carbon and nutrient cycling rates through species-specific differences in leaf and root characteristics. These so-called plant functional traits provide an essential link between vegetation change and ecosystem functionality, and understanding how climate warming affects tundra plant traits is therefore vital for accurately forecasting ecosystem impacts over the coming century.
Climate-change manipulation experiments allow for process-based investigations into how ecosystems respond mechanistically to warming. However, lack of long-term experimental warming studies in the Arctic currently impedes our ability to predict future climate responses accurately over decadal time-scales because extrapolation of short-term data consistently leads to faulty long-term predictions. In WarmTraits, I will utilize a unique opportunity to destructively sample in a long-term experiment where greenhouses have warmed tundra plots for one, 11, and 21 years, respectively. Thereby, I will quantify the mechanistic effects of increasing climate-warming duration on a very comprehensive suite of above- and belowground plant functional traits. In addition, I will directly link functional trait changes to ecosystem functionality by measuring important ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycling processes using stable isotope labelling.
I have the required expertise in ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry to implement the project objectives successfully, and my host’s expert knowledge ensures that I will receive top-tier research training in plant physiology and stable isotope techniques.
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 ecology ecosystems
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geochemistry biogeochemistry
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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-2019
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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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.