Functional Ecology of Forest Tree Species

This group integrates researchers working in Ecophysiology, Dendroecology and Metabolomics. Our work is focused towards a better understanding of the response and adaptation of forest species to environmental conditions, including the study of mechanisms and processes of physiology and growth under stressful conditions at different genetic levels, from the clone to a large group of species, from the molecular response to that of the individual, and at different scales, from the tree to the forest stand. We combine the study of functional and morphological characters with that of changes at the metabolic level in different organs to identify and understand the mechanisms that govern the response to environmental factors: water, light and CO2 levels in the atmosphere. The study of functional traits together with xylogenesis and time series in growth rings allows us to address key aspects of tree behavior in the long term.