First meeting: 01.-04.07.2025

PIs:
Hervé Jactel
Simone Mereu

iDiv member:
Helge Bruelheide
Jens Kattge

Project summary:
The sTREND project focuses on understanding how tree functional traits respond to neighboring diversity in tree communities. This research is grounded in functional ecology, which examines how traits influence ecosystem properties and functioning. While traditional approaches focus on interspecific trait variation, our project highlights the importance of phenotypic plasticity, which can account for up to 25% of trait variation within communities. Bringing together a team of 20 scientists, we plan to integrate and analyze data from the TreeDivNet network, the FunDivEurope project's Exploratory Platform, and existing trait databases (TRY, GRooT, FRED). Our project aims to explore how the diversity of neighboring trees affects traits, and subsequently, ecosystem functions. For instance, faster-growing neighbors can increase shading, resulting in higher specific leaf area in focal trees. Specifically, the project's objectives are:
1.    Characterize intraspecific trait variability across many tree species, biomes, and traits.
2.    Evaluate different neighboring diversity metrics' effects on focal tree traits, considering competition indices.
3.    Assess trait plasticity’s impact on physiological processes and upscale these effects to understand their role in above and below ground carbon sequestration.
4.    Develop a new trait plasticity index that considers trees' responses to neighbor diversity and tests its predictive power for biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships.
This research aligns with iDiv’s goals of investigating biodiversity and ecosystem functioning and the complexity of biotic interactions, aiming to provide novel insights into the feedback effects of tree diversity on community functioning.

In person participants:
tba

Remote partcipants:
tba

Meeting report:
tba