Evolutionary vegetation modeling and management

Research in 2015 has seen progress on five fronts:

• A new study has provided a mechanistic explanation for an unresolved riddle in carbon cycling: CO₂ emissions following rainfall generally exceed model predictions. The new model helps improve understanding and predictions of soil microbial activity in the global carbon cycle [1].
• A related study established an unexpected link between soil microbial activity and EEP’s research on the Equitable Governance of Common Goods: observed microbial activity arises from the interplay between decomposers that accomplish their work by producing extracellular enzymes and “cheaters” exploiting these publically available enzymes for their selfish benefit. On this basis, the study shows how the dynamical balance between these two functional groups fundamentally alters traditional predictions of soil microbial activity [2].
• Underscoring the intricate relationship between climate change and vegetation responses, research demonstrated that climate change can either advance or delay the timing of flowering in annual plants depending on the growth constraints they experience [3].
• Responding to the need among vegetation researchers for a flexible toolbox for investigating the eco-evolutionary dynamics of vegetation, EEP co-developed the Plant model, a comprehensive software package for studying the ecology and evolution of plant communities [4].
• The new Plant model shows how community evolution in two functional traits can give rise to species-rich communities matching empirical observations (Figure 1). The research also shows, for the first time, the emergence of neutral fitness ridges in niche models of plant communities, thereby demonstrating an assumption previously used a priori by the neutral theory of biodiversity [5].

Figure 1. The Plant model generates realistic vegetation patterns matching observations in dependence on a site’s environmental conditions. The vegetation’s biodiversity is shown in terms of the successional dynamics of different species (distinguished by color) after a disturbance [5].

Last edited: 09 May 2016