OBJECTIVES
The main objective of this project CCPaMe is to advance in the understanding of the effects of Climate Change on biotic communities and their interactions with invasive pathogens and plant diseases development in Mediterranean forests systems.
These interactions have been largely ignored so far, but its consideration is crucial to understand how abiotic and biotic stress factors together determine forest health and stability.
Specifically, this project aims to:
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Determine the direct and indirect effects of Climate Change, rainfall decreasing and warming, on woody species community and their interactions with P. cinnamomi abundance, and the root disease development in Mediterranean forests. For that, it is using greenhouse experiments and a long-term field climate change simulation experiment in a mixed oak forest.
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Determine the indirect effects of Climate Change on soil biotic community (bacteria and fungi composition) and their interactions with P. cinnamomi in oak open-woodlands ecosystems. This goal explores the combined consequences of the rainfall reduction and warming, and the composition of soil microorganisms community on P. cinnamomi survival and infectivity by a long-term field climate change simulation experiment located in three oak open-woodland ecosystems.