email:
katja.trachte <at> b-tu.de
Atmospheric Processes
Burger Chaussee 2
Campus Nord, LG 4/3
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg
03044 Cottbus
Germany
Individual:
Wolfgang Wilcke
Contact:
email:
wolfgang.wilcke <at> kit.edu
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Institute of Geography and Geoecology
Reinhard-Baumeister-Platz 1
76131 Karlsruhe
Baden-Württemberg
Germany
Tropical mountain ecosystems are threatened by climate and land-use changes. Their diversity and complexity make projec-<br/>
tions how they respond to environmental changes challenging. A suitable way are trait-based approaches, by distinguishing <br/>
between response traits that determine the resistance of species to environmental changes and efect traits that are relevant <br/>
for species’ interactions, biotic processes, and ecosystem functions. The combination of those approaches with land surface <br/>
models (LSM) linking the functional community composition to ecosystem functions provides new ways to project the <br/>
response of ecosystems to environmental changes. With the interdisciplinary project RESPECT, we propose a research <br/>
framework that uses a trait-based response-efect-framework (REF) to quantify relationships between abiotic conditions, <br/>
the diversity of functional traits in communities, and associated biotic processes, informing a biodiversity-LSM. We apply <br/>
the framework to a megadiverse tropical mountain forest. We use a plot design along an elevation and a land-use gradient <br/>
to collect data on abiotic drivers, functional traits, and biotic processes. We integrate these data to build the biodiversity-<br/>
LSM and illustrate how to test the model. REF results show that aboveground biomass production is not directly related to <br/>
changing climatic conditions, but indirectly through associated changes in functional traits. Herbivory is directly related to <br/>
changing abiotic conditions. The biodiversity-LSM informed by local functional trait and soil data improved the simulation <br/>
of biomass production substantially. We conclude that local data, also derived from previous projects (platform Ecuador), are <br/>
key elements of the research framework. We specify essential datasets to apply this framework to other mountain ecosystems.
Keywords:
| Biodiversity-Land-Surface-Model |
Literature type specific fields:
ARTICLE
Journal:
Oecologia
Volume:
2021
Page Range:
1-13
Metadata Provider:
Individual:
Jörg Bendix
Contact:
email:
bendix <at> staff.uni-marburg.de
Faculty of Geography
Deutschhausstraße 10
Philipps University of Marburg
Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing
35032 Marburg
Germany
