Community diversity as a response and as a driver. Exploring long-tern experiments to address functional roles of diversity
| Name: | Community diversity as a response and as a driver. Exploring long-tern experiments to address functional roles of diversity |
|---|---|
| Researchers: |
Herben Tomáš (co-researcher) Hadincová Věroslava (member in research team) Koláček Tomáš (member in research team) Krak Karol (member in research team) Krahulec František (member in research team) Skálová Hana (member in research team) |
| Provider: | GAČR |
| Number: | GAČR 20-02901S |
| Realization from: | 2020 |
| Realization to: | 2020 |
| Summary: | The interplay between community diversity and functioning is one of the central topics of contemporary ecology. However, diversity is typically seen from two very different perspectives, either as a response to environment or as an effect on ecosystem functions. Our primary aim is to develop approaches that can bridge this gap, taking into account the fact that both perspectives work with underlying assumption of niche differentiation. In the proposed project, we joined together two leading Czech groups working on mechanisms of grassland diversity with sufficient expertise and long-term experiments (some running for 20 years) to perform manipulative experiments and an in-depth analysis of mechanisms by which coexisting plant species divide the niche space. We will combine two types of manipulation, namely manipulating richness directly and indirectly by changing productivity by fertilization. Further, we will examine a number of putative mechanisms accounting for niche differentiation, namely root interactions, growth phenology and interactions with root pathogens. |