Plant functional traits translated into vegetation dynamics - linking environmental factors, functional diversity and carbon pools

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SP 5 assumes that responses of plants to changes of climate and land use depend on their functional traits rather than on their taxonomic affiliation. Through shifts in plant functional trait composition, changes in the biodiversity component of ecosystems also affect nutrient and water cycling and the capacity of the ecosystem to adapt to changes of climate and land use. Here, we combine an empirical and a modelling approach to better understand the relationships between the composition of plant functional traits, environment, and ecosystem functioning in the Kilimanjaro region.Our first objective is to understand the response of ecophysiological and regenerative traits of plant species and communities to changes in soil resources, land use and fire as well as effects of plant traits on ecosystem functions such as nutrient and water cycling or plant – animal interactions, including seed dispersal. Plant traits will be assessed by sampling approx. 120 species for morphological traits and approx. 60 species for traits requiring laboratory analysis in 60 plots. The trait composition of the communities of these selected species will be related to environmental and ecosystem parameters (recorded by subprojects 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8) using statistical approaches. Traits will be classified into response and effect traits depending on whether they respond to the environment and/or affect ecosystem properties. The second objective is to develop an individual and process-based vegetation model to study the transient dynamics of vegetation types in response to environmental factors and human disturbances. The plant trait data sampled in the field will be used to parameterise main parts of the vegetation model. The model will be based on the FORMIND approach. Inventory data and empirical trait-environment relationships will be important to calibrate and validate model formulations. With the help of the vegetation model we will study successional dynamics and the impact of disturbances on tree communities, focusing on the role of plant traits.