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GRK 2324:  TreeDì - Tree Diversity Interactions: The role of tree-tree interactions in local neighbourhoods in Chinese subtropical forests

Subject Area Plant Sciences
Term since 2018
Website Homepage
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 319936945
 
The aim of the International Research Training Group TreeDì - 林地 (lín dì, forest land) is to understand the mechanisms of tree-tree and tree-shrub interactions in forests. We thereby focus on how interactions in local neighbourhoods translate into positive species richness effects on multiple key ecosystem functions at the community scale. TreeDì goes beyond preceding Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning (BEF) research by studying mechanistic processes at the relevant local scale instead of inferring them from the community scale. In addition to selection effects brought about by the taxonomic or functional identity of tree and shrub species, TreeDì focuses on four main groups of mechanisms. These are 1) resource partitioning, which results in an increased and more efficient resource use, 2) facilitation, which ameliorates abiotic stress, 3) dilution effects, which reduces the negative effects of herbivores and pathogens on trees and shrubs and 4) biotic feedbacks of higher trophic levels on ecosystem functions. We hypothesize that positive net biodiversity effects at the community scale emerge from the sum of these processes at the scale of local neighbourhoods. All individual PhD projects test this overarching hypothesis on the BEF-China platform. This "zoom-in"-approach requires an interdisciplinary team of experts from forestry, functional plant ecology, zoology, molecular biology, microbial ecology, soil ecology, metabolomics and modelling. While each project has specific objectives, they complement each other synergistically and interdisciplinarily. While the focus of the previous phase has been on the interactions among two neighbour trees and their immediate neighbourhood, the next funding phase will also include shrubs, both to include important components of biodiversity and to measure their responses to tree diversity. TreeDì features an international qualification programme, involving an intensive Chinese-German cultural exchange during 6-month mutual research visits, a joint PhD advisory committee composed of Chinese and German principal investigators and unique opportunities to meet, study and discuss with key researchers in biodiversity research. Doctoral researchers are recruited internationally in joint recruitment symposia. A tailored course programme allows for acquiring a high degree of specialization in one's own PhD topic and gaining general knowledge on the full breadth of biodiversity research. Early experience in autonomous research is facilitated by making existing data available for synthesis projects. The qualification programme also aims at training transferable professional skills and supports successful post-doctoral careers. On the Chinese side, matching funding for doctoral researchers will be provided by UCAS. The study location and common fieldwork in China and the long cooperation record of Chinese and German PIs offer optimal conditions for TreeDì.
DFG Programme International Research Training Groups
International Connection China
IRTG-Partner: Spokesperson Professorin Dr. Yanfen Wang
 
 

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