Plants generally benefit from a mild climate, but species adapted to growing in cold environments, such as alpine ones, are under severe pressure from global warming, which is occurring more rapidly in mountainous and arctic areas than elsewhere. These species are damaged by heat shock, water shortages, and competition with other, more competitive low-altitude species. This latter effect of climate change also affects the degradation of high-altitude habitats. Studying the effects of climate change on plants allows us to understand their response mechanisms to such events and to predict their future distribution.
Research topics
1) long-term monitoring of species and vegetation with permanent plots of floristic composition or population trends of species at the margins of their ranges in sample sites (Northern Apennines, Orobie Alps), which are also part of the L-TER Italia Network and the GLORIA project (Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine environments);
2) Experimental manipulations of ecological conditions (temperature, humidity, photoperiod) in the field and in the laboratory to study plant responses to climate changes simulated with open-top chambers, lamps, reciprocal transplants, etc. Specifically, studies are conducted on the response of seed germination and longevity, reproduction, and seedling establishment to water stress, temperature, and the combined effect of temperature and photoperiod.
Species studied include Viscaria alpina, Jacobaea incana subsp. incana, Leucanthemopsis alpina, Saxifraga sp. pl., Salix sp. pl., and Poa alpina. The study areas include the Northern Apennines, the Western Alps, Svalbard, and the Himalayas.
Active projects
- GLORIA -Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (http://www.gloria.ac.at/)
- L-TER Italy (http://www.lteritalia.it/)
- PRIN PHOTOPLANT
- PRIN SENTINEL.