DFI

The objectives and the activities of the group over the next four years are structured according to two basic axes that include the tasks performed in recent years: 

• The structure and functioning of ecosystems at different scales. 
• The changes that may occur in these forest ecosystems by the impacts of fire, climate change (e.g., drought) and land use changes (e.g. deforestation).

Forest ecosystems are understood in a broad sense, including forests but also scrublands and natural grasslands.

Axis 1. Structure and function of forest ecosystems at different scales.

The study of the structure and functioning of forest ecosystems (forests, scrublands and natural grasslands) raises problems given the important spatial variations that occur and the different duration of life of the species, from anual plants to many long-lived tree species. For this reason, the objectives included within this axis, which are grouped into four different topics, arise at different spatial and temporal scales: (i) carbon stocks and fluxes in forest ecosystems; (ii) water resources in forest ecosystems; (iii) ecological interactions; (iv) relations between forest structure and the patterns of biodiversity in mature forests.

Axis 2. Changes in forest ecosystems by different impacts of global change: fires, deforestation and climate change 

The new worldwide global change scenarios foreseen an increase in the recurrence of fires in many areas, important land use changes and the increase of other disturbances such as recurrent droughts. The activities to develop in this axis can be grouped into three areas: (i) impact of fire on forest ecosystems; (ii) deforestation in the tropical regions of South America; (iii) impacts of climate change on forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean region.