Search for projects with tag "microclimate"
[ID: 508] Microclimate Soil Microbes
PI: Paul Kardol
Forests are vital for human well-being, especially through their role in carbon cycling—a process threatened by climate change. When forests shift from absorbing carbon to releasing it, they worsen global warming and harm biodiversity. However, we still lack a clear understanding of how climate change will affect carbon cycling, largely because research often overlooks the link between large-scale climate (macroclimate) and the local conditions (microclimate) that directly influence plants and soil microbes. This project aims to fill this gap by studying how the disconnect between macroclimate and microclimate impacts carbon cycling and soil microbial activity in different forests, covering a latitude range of 5 degrees (Asa till Svartberget). We will explore how forest structure affects this decoupling and use controlled experiments to simulate climate change scenarios, focusing on the effects of aboveground and belowground microclimates on soil microbes. We will investigate the effect of microclimate on soil-microbial communities by comparing their composition (DNA sequencing) and activity (CO2 respiration) between different macroclimates (Asa, Grimsö, Svartberget) and respective microclimates, as well as observing changes during a controlled warming experiment in the lab.
[ID: 368] Microclimate measurements (temperature + soil moisture)
PI: Caroline Greiser
The project aims at studying forest microclimate with special focus on soil moisture as a driver for forest understory cooling. We established a network of temperature and soil moisture loggers in each of three SITES regions: Asa, Grimsö and Svartberget. Each network consists of ca. 40 plots, on each plot there is a temperature-soil moisture logger on the ground (TMS4, tomst.com) and a temperature logger at ca. 1.7 m at the nearest tree (Thermologger, tomst.com). Both loggers measure temperature in a 15 min interval. In Asa, we used a subset of the permanent vegetation plots. In Svartberget/Krycklan, we used a subset of Johannes Larson/Mattias Peichl plots, from which we have detailed information on soil and vegetation/forest. We did additional hemispheric canopy cover photos at each logger plot and also did some basic inventory of forest basal area (with a relaskop). We have installed the loggers in May-July 2022 and plan to download their data at least once a year during the snow-free season.
microclimateforest bufferingsoil moisturesoil waterevapotranspiration
[ID: 321] Pollinator activity
PI: Per-Ola Hedwall
Interactions between macroclimate and forest tree canopies drive many of the ecosystem processes which dictate the development of understorey species distributions, and the related ecosystem services. However, despite their importance, current knowledge is insufficient to allow managers to accurately project the combined implications of tree species composition and climate for understorey communities, and the potential for refugia and dispersal barriers, as well as phenology mismatches, to develop under future climates. To fill these knowledge gaps we will use a trans-European network of climate observation sites set in forest understories to establish cameras and traps for surveillance of plants and pollinators, DNA analyses to study plant-pollinator interactions, and translocate plants adapted to colder climates. These sites enable us to exchange space for time by replicating along a macroclimatic gradient from Belgium to northern Sweden, varying over 10 °C in mean annual temperature. This climate gradient, in combination with varying forest density and tree species composition, will enable us to decipher the interactions and processes operating among microclimate, vegetation, and plant as well as pollinator phenology. By teasing out these drivers, processes, and their implications for understorey ecosystem services, our project will fill a knowledge gap vital to understanding two of the prime determinants of global change; a changing climate and changing land-use.