Project / Initiative
National projects
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Inactive
TIPMED
Tipping points in Mediterranean forests under climate change
Creaf leader
Participant
Participant
The general objective of this proposal is to examine tipping points in the state of Mediterranean ecosystems from forest to non-forest vegetation under sequences of fire and drought events, in relation to pre- and post-fire drought severity and the bioclimatic suitability of species.
Climatic changes are likely to trigger substantial alterations in fire and drought regimes, jeopardizing resilience in Mediterranean ecosystems. Increased knowledge on the interactions among disturbances and the effect of specific sequences of events on ecosystem dynamics are among the challenges of the scientific community.
The project will gather field data on forests recruitment to empirically determine potential tipping points from forest to non-forest in areas affected by drought episodes before and after a fire event. Future climate scenarios will serve to characterize forest dynamics based on modelling techniques and to quantify the likelihood of sudden changes in ecosystem state under altered fire-drought regimes.
