Research

The mitigating role of local processes

My research addresses the mitigating role of local processes in the ecosystems’ response to changing environment.

In a changing world, where observational studies record shifts in species' global distribution ranges [1,2,3] and models predict deeper changes for the near future [4], I am investigating how local interactions within and among the compartments of the ecosystem modulate the communities’ structure and dynamics.

The concept of “integrative community” [5] emphasizes the varying degrees of interdependence among the structuring processes while the description of plant communities as “working mechanisms in spatiotemporal mosaic” in the Watt’s seminal paper [6] highlights the variation in intensity and importance of these processes in space and time.

This variable web of interactions limits the connection between ecological patterns and processes by the numerical approaches [7] which remains in the first line to provide intelligible answers to the society’s environmental concerns.

The scientific community calls, then, for more interdisciplinarity among the fields of environmental sciences for better disentangle of the processes to feed the mechanistic dimension of the modelling effort. As a re-discovery of the origins, the integrative approach is increasingly identified as a key development of ecology.

I embrace this integrative aspect of ecology. From a focus on plant communities, for their pivotal role in the matter and energy fluxes in the ecosystems, I extended my investigations to the multi-trophic and multi-compartment dimensions of the local processes. I enlarged the temporal window of observation from the monthly monitoring of the processes to the multi-decadal dynamics of the communities.

Field experiment (both manipulative and comparative designs [8]) is the central approach of my research where I am trying to contribute to the scrutiny and understanding of the mechanisms underlying the interactions among plants (competition, facilitation) and with their biotic (microorganism, soil fauna, herbivores) and abiotic (biogeochemical cycles, µ- meso-climate) environments. Field approaches are the main bridge between observed patterns and mechanistic models [9] (Fig. 1a) addressing how the local interactions and their variations can mitigate the ecosystems’ responses to the changing environment [10,11] and either favour the ecosystem's resilience or trigger alternative dynamics, both ultimately cascading on ecosystem services (Fig. 1b).

I developed my research in diverse systems from sub-Antarctic isolated islands to the high Arctic tundra (Fig.2). In severe environments, mostly Alpine and Arctic systems, the constraints can accentuate structuring forces and reveals mechanisms. The prevalence of abiotic limiting factors can stress the environment-biotic community relationships and outline the mechanisms of interactions while the spatiotemporal heterogeneity can provide a range of conditions favourable to the expression of contrasted interactions. On the other hand, under more temperate conditions, from the Mediterranean forests to sub-Arctic tundra heath, the history of human pressure can be an invitation for a better consideration of the dynamic and multi-driver aspects of the ecosystem functioning.

The Arcana of Plant Communities

Community theory drew in the last decades the main principles of the structure and dynamics of biotic communities. Nonetheless, the context- and/or species-dependence of biotic interactions and community assemblages remains the common rule. A first aspect of my research aims to address the structuring role of these processes in plant communities. Learn more

The Interplay of the Drivers

Global Change Ecology has highlighted the joint effects of the multiple drivers of community structure and ecosystem functioning [31]. But the complexity of the interplay among the drivers challenges by itself our ability to address it. Another aspect of my research consists in contributing facing this challenge.

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The Multi-Compartment Perspective

The shift of community ecology from taxonomic focuses to process-oriented perspective is a re-discovery of the integrative essence of Ecology. The bloom of plant-soil or plant-herbivore ecological fields are examples of the recent steps toward better integrative consideration for the different compartments of the ecosystem interacting at the local scale. My research follows a similar path. Learn more

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