Novel light regimes and drought effects on temperate forest plant biodiversity

Introduction

Tree canopies are one of the most recognizable features of forests, providing shelter from external influences to a myriad of species that live in the understorey. Canopy disturbances are now accelerating across European forests, and climate-change induced drought is a key driver.

Impact of Disturbances

These disturbances are opening the canopy and exposing forest biodiversity to no-analog light regimes and drought – light and drought levels they have never been exposed to before. As the majority of forest plant species occur in the shade below tree canopies, the combination of altered light regimes and intensifying droughts can strongly impact forest biodiversity.

Research Gap

However, the interactive effects of novel light regimes and drought on temperate forest biodiversity have never been investigated before. Since recent European droughts are unprecedented in the last two millennia, and this has initiated the largest pulse of forest disturbances in almost two centuries, the time to assess impacts on biodiversity is now.

Project Aim

The overarching aim of CanopyChange is to quantify, understand, and predict the impacts of no-analog light regimes and drought on below-canopy forest plant biodiversity.

Methodology

To address this challenging goal, the following approaches will be employed:

1. Cross-continental resurveyed vegetation plots
2. The first pan-European forest disturbance-drought experiment
3. A pioneering canopy clipping mesocosm experiment

These methods will be combined with an interdisciplinary toolbox drawing from ecology, forestry, and climatology.

Data Utilization

These data will then feed into cutting-edge joint species distribution models to project European forest plant biodiversity responses to future climate and canopy change.

Significance

CanopyChange will be the first integrative study of pan-European forest plant biodiversity responses to no-analog light regimes and drought. It is at the heart of biodiversity conservation and forest management, and will deliver much-needed information for policymakers and managers to adapt to the future, no-analog conditions in European forests.