Species responses – Work package 2

Many of the overall effects of climatic and environmental changes on the ecosystems are consequences of physiological responses at species level. Analyses of physiological effects of the imposed multiple stresses and of changes in seasonality and periodicity of weather events are therefore needed to explain responses in ecosystem structure and function (WP 3 and 4).

The aim of work package 2 is to:

• investigate and understand the immediate physiological responses of plants, herbivores and decomposer organisms to climatic and environmental changes
• to understand how physiological changes in one trophic level will translate into effects in other levels.

The results will serve as a basis for understanding the interactions within and between ecosystem functional groups, how these interactions are influenced by the changes, and which consequences they are likely to have on ecosystem structure and functioning. Consequently, there are strong interactions between this work package and WP3 and WP4, which will be synthesized in WP5.