Research
Current projects
Joint effects of CLimate Extremes and Atmospheric depositioN on European FORESTs (CLEANFOREST)
Our team is a part of a multidisciplinary pan-European network which was established under the COST Action CLEANFOREST. The aim of this Action is to understand the ability of forests to cope with and adapt to more frequent climate extreme events and associated changes in atmospheric depositions. The Action addresses 3 scientific challenges to study the atmosphere-biosphere interactions along the natural-periurban-urban forest continuum in Europe. Challenge 1 focuses on spatio-temporal changes in global change drivers; Challenge 2 addresses interactions between global change drivers and forest ecosystem health and functioning; and Challenge 3 deals with interactions between global change drivers and tree and soil biogeochemical processes. Our team would like to converge the results of our long-term research on floodplain forest vegetation in Europe while working on the above challenges.
Funding:
European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST)
Action members:
Alena Havrdová, Leandro Eusebio
Project schedule:
28 October 2022 – 27 October 2026
Topic-related results:
Linking performance trade-off with modern coexistence theory and functional trait approach
What mechanisms allow species to coexist? Understanding this question, and a related issue, the maintenance of diversity in local communities, are matters of ongoing debate in community ecology.
The aim is to evaluate the role of performance trade-off for species coexistence under both experimental and natural conditions, together with measurement of species functional responses to competition and to drought stress.
Funding:
Czech Science Foundation (GACR)
Principal investigator:
Jan Douda
Project schedule:
1 January 2023 – 31 December 2025
Topic-related results:
Changes of vegetation and structure of alder carrs and alder alluvial forests infected by alien pathogen Phytophthora alni and assesment of further development
The aim of the project is to identify compositional and structural changes of alder communities invaded by Phytophthora alni, to determine its pathogenicity and make predictions of vulnerability of natural stands. During the project, we will resample the vegetation plots of Alnus dominated stands recorded 20 years ago before pathogen invasion.
Funding:
Technology Agency of the Czech Republic
Co-investigator:
Jan Douda
Project partners:
RILOG (Jaroslav Vojta – principal investigator), Karlova Charles University (Ondřej Koukol)
Project schedule:
1 January 2022 – 31 December 2024
Topic-related results:
Application of traditional knowledge to halt biodiversity loss in woodlands
The aim of the ROTATE Action is to support the biodiversity of organisms associated with traditional forms of forest management (coppicing, pollarding, leaf litter removal) in Central and Northern Europe. Interdisciplinary approach will ensure overcoming of existing barriers that prevent the introduction of knowledge into practice. The outputs will be processed in the form of scientific publications, workshops and conferences and in the form of an approved methodology that will reflect the needs of application guarantors. A wider transfer into practice and sustainability beyond the project is expected, which will be guaranteed by several application guarantors. The outputs will include monitoring of selected groups of organisms and ensuring long-term care of selected sites.
Funding:
EEA and Norway Grants
Principal investigator:
Jana Doudová
Project partners:
NIBIO (Rob Lewis), Institute of Botany (Ondřej Vild), Biological Centre (Lukáš Čížek)
Project schedule:
1 January 2021 – 30 April 2024
Topic-related results:
[Biol Conserv], [Sci Total Environ], [J Appl Ecol], [Environ Hist], [Živa]
Former projects
Network establishment for V4 wetland forest protection (NERVE4 Action)
This project begins establishment of long-term monitoring plots in Alder carrs in order to recognize key factors that drives community assembly in Alder carrs and their vulnerability to climate change. Apart from the monitoring network, next results of the projects will be educational brochure and short videofilm together raising awarness of importance and threats of wetland forests, mainly of Alder carr habitats.
Funding:
Visegrad Fund
Coordinators:
Přemysl Král
Jan Häusler
Jan Douda
Project partners:
Centre for Ecological Research (Péter Ódor), University of Agriculture in Kraków (Remigiusz Pielech), Slovak Academy of Sciences (Michal Slezák)
Project schedule:
1 June 2022 – 30 November 2023
The understanding of long-term sustainability of ecosystem services of European floodplain forests
European floodplain forests are among the most important habitats of river ecosystems that have been significantly degraded by human activity although they provide many important ecosystem functions and services. This project actively participates in the international cooperation of CONVERGES Knowledge conversion for enhancing management of European riparian ecosystems and services. The main goal of this project is to increase awareness of the importance of floodplain forests in relation to human activities and pressures (i.e., management practices, climate change).
Funding:
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
Principal investigator:
Jan Douda
Project schedule:
1 July 2018 – 1 October 2021
Topic-related results:
[Sci Total Environ],
[Appl Veg Sci], [Ecology],
[Funct Ecol], [Oecologia],
[J Biogeogr] , [Methods CZ]
What is the origin of dry grasslands in Central Europe? A synthesis of comparative phylogeography and palaeodistribution modelling
This project aims to shed light upon the glacial and postglacial history of dry grassland species and communities in Central Europe. We will combine data on colonization history with ecological niche modelling to disentangle the history of dry grasslands using modern approaches of community phylogeography. The main hypothesis is that dry grassland species occurring in Central Europe represent community assemblages with similar phylogeographic histories, sharing routes of postglacial expansion and tracking each other through space and time.
Funding:
Czech Science Foundation (GACR)
Principal investigator:
Bohumil Mandák
Project partners:
Masaryk University (Milan Chytrý)
Project schedule:
2018 – 2020
Impact of climatic suitability on expansion at species’ range boundaries
In climatically driven species expansion two alternative scenarios may be expected about the critical processes influencing species potential for range shift. (1) Dispersal, fitness related traits and mating system do not limit species expansion. (2) Expansion is limited by dispersal traits, mating system or fitness related traits. In this case, population history and processes such as genetic admixture may ameliorate species traits related to dispersal and fitness ensuring further expansion. In this project, we will provide insight into processes influencing expansion of annual species Atriplex tatarica at the leading edge of its European distribution. Specifically, we will study if expansion processes are driven simply via centre-abundant model or whether knowledge on specific population history is needed.
Funding:
Czech Science Foundation (GACR)
Principal investigator:
Bohumil Mandák
Project schedule:
2015 – 2017
Topic-related results:
[J Biogeogr], [J Ecol]
Postglacial colonization of Alnus glutinosa and A. incana: analysis of DNA variation and fossil records
Presently, there is a tendency to believe, that pattern of postglacial colonization was more complicated than the concept following the traditional paradigm of colonization from three southern peninsulas refugia in Europe. In this project, we purpose to discover the postglacial migration routes and late glacial refugia of Alnus incana and A. glutinosa, which appear as a cryptic species in paleobotanical studies. We are addressing these issues by combining both chloroplast DNA and microsatellite markers, which together can provide complimentary insights at different geographical and temporal scales.
Funding:
Czech Science Foundation (GACR)
Principal investigator:
Jan Douda
Project partners:
Institute of Botany (Bohumil Mandák)
Topic-related results:
[Mol Ecol], [PLoS ONE],
[Tree Genet. Genomes],
[Ann Bot], [New Phytol]