‘Plant interaction and the functioning of extreme ecosystems exposed to global change: understanding their structure and dynamics in order to conserve biodiversity’

Adrián Escudero Alcántara, Ana María Sánchez Álvarez, Angela Paola Sierra Almeida, Arantzazu López de Luzuriaga Gamboa, Beatriz Pías Couso, Constanza L. Quiroz, Cristian Torres, Fernando Valladares Ros, Fernando Tomás Maestre Gil, Francisco Antonio Squeo Porcile, Isabel Martínez Moreno, José María Iriondo Alegría, Julio Gutiérrez Camus, Lohengrin A. Cavieres González, Lorgio Eduardo Aguilera Jopia, Marco A. Molina Montenegro, María José Albert, Rubén Milla Gutiérrez, Silvia Matesanz, Teresa Efigenia Gimeno Chocarro, Luis Giménez Benavides.

The semi-arid and high-mountain ecosystems of the Mediterranean stand out for their concentration of unique biodiversity and their vulnerability to global change. This project will assess the importance of positive plant interactions for the upkeep of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in these environments, by means of three kinds of experiments: analysis of environmental gradients, establishment of local adaptation phenomena in response to climate change, and modulation of the combined response of different vascular plant groups to climate change and to individual and population disturbances. The information obtained will serve as input to biodiversity management, conservation and restoration programs and the design of policies to mitigate the effects of global change.