Climate change effects on alpine ecosystems

Principal investigator: Prof. Michele Carbognani

Team: Prof. Alessandro Petraglia, Dr Andrea Vannini, Dr Elisa Beninato, Dr T’ai GW Forte

Status: In progress (2024-present)

Research theme 1: Functional responses of high-elevation lichens to climate change

Research theme 2: Plant diversity in mountain habitats along environmental gradients: a multi-taxon approach

Framework

This project, developed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Genoa and Florence, aims to test the acclimation capacity of different lichen species to simulated climate change in alpine ecosystems. Lacking tissues, lichens are in constant equilibrium with water availability and atmospheric temperature and, consequently, they are particularly sensitive to environmental changes and can give anticipatory responses to observable changes in the ecosystem.

The project will test the hypothesis that, under climate change, significant differences in the acclimation response of lichen species to water shortage and warmer temperature can be observed. As proxies for the acclimation response, we will use ecophysiological traits associated with the availability of light and water, such as photosynthetic efficiency, thallus temperature and water content.

Research objectives

The ACCLIMATE project, based on climate manipulations in the field coupled with vegetation surveys along natural environmental gradients, aims to: 1) assess the responses of different lichen species to reduced precipitation and/or warmer temperatures; 2) test low-cost technologies for measuring ecophysiological parameters related to the acclimation capacity of lichens; 3) investigate the variation of plant diversity and the co-occurrence of species along natural precipitation and temperature gradients; and 4) develop predictive models on elevation shifts of species in alpine environments, explicitly considering their physiological acclimation capacity.

Main activities

Within this projects, the main activities will consist of: 1) setup of the field experiment (only for Theme 1); 2) data collection (ecophysiology of lichens in the manipulation experiment or vegetation surveys with a multi-taxon approach, considering the occurrence of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens along natural gradients); 3) identification of species in the lab (only for Theme 2); and 4) analysis of the data collected.

Field work will be carried out at a high-elevation site (2700 m a.s.l.; Gavia valley, Italian Rhaetian Alps) managed by the research unit of the University of Parma (Theme 1) and in different sites in the Italian Rhaetian Alps (Theme 2) between June and September 2024.

Join us

This project is suitable for students in plant biology or related disciplines who are enthusiastic about mountain lichens and/or plant diversity.

Contacts

To apply, please send an email to Michele Carbognani (michele.carbognani@unipr.it) with a short message expressing your interest. We will contact you to invite you for an informal meeting.

Principal investigator: Prof. Michele Carbognani

Team: Prof. Alessandro Petraglia, Dr Giorgio Chiari, Dr T’ai GW Forte

Status: In progress (2024-present)

Research theme 1: Drought timing effects on CO₂ fluxes in an alpine grassland

Research theme 2: Effects of drought on plant functional traits in an alpine grassland

Framework

This project, developed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Udine, aims to detect the effects of extreme drought events, occurring at different perionds and lasting for one or two months, on plant functions and ecosystem processes in two alpine grassland communities. The project will follow an upscaling approach from species to community- and ecosystem-level, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying plant species, vegetation and ecosystem responses to the current climate crisis.

Research objectives

The RE-SHAPE UP project, based on experimental manipulations in the field, aims to: 1) identify the effects of extreme drought events on plant performance; 2) detect environmental thresholds for key ecosystem processes, such as biomass production and CO₂ uptake and release; 3) quantify the resistance, recovery, and resilience of plant species and ecosystem functions to different timings of summer drought events; and 4) scale up the experiment results in the Alps by using remote sensing tools.

Main activities

Within this project, the main activities will consist of: 1) setup of the field experiment; 2) collection of data (CO₂ fluxes for Theme 1 or plant functional traits for Theme 2); 3) sample processing in the lab; and 4) analysis of the data collected.

Field work will be carried out at a high-elevation site (2700 m a.s.l.; Gavia valley, Italian Rhaetian Alps) managed by the research unit of the University of Parma, between June and September 2024.

Join us

This project is suitable for students in ecology or related disciplines who are enthusiastic about alpine plants and/or plant-environment relationships.

Contacts

To apply, please send an email to Michele Carbognani (michele.carbognani@unipr.it) with a short message expressing your interest. We will contact you to invite you for an informal meeting.

Responsible: Prof. Alessandro Petraglia, Prof. Michele Carbognani

Team: Dr. Andrea Vannini, Dr. Giorgio Chiari, Dr.ssa T’ai GW Forte

Status: In progress (2018-presente)

Responsible: Prof. Alessandro Petraglia, Prof. Michele Carbognani

Team: Dr. Giorgio Chiari, Dr.ssa T’ai GW Forte

Status: In progress (2008/2012-present)

Research Line 1: Effects of summer warming on alpine snow-valley communities

Research Line 2: Effects of summer warming and early snowmelt on Alpine snow valleys