ecological approach to identify mechanisms & traits for optimised plant teams
Led by Christoph Scherber (WWU) and Lars Kiær (UCPH) the project will develop and apply a novel ecological approach to identify mechanisms and traits that optimise the performance of plant teams and provide scientific evidence for the effects of crop trait diversity on plant-plant and plant-environment interactions, based on field experiments across Europe.
Objectives:
2.1 Collate trait and species data of major crop and plant team species from across European pedo-climatic zones, based on stakeholder experience and covering a gradient in plant team diversity (two-species to multiple species);
2.2 Deliver species information and data on traits and plant team performance for modelling, in-field validation and curation;
2.3 Perform synchronized experiments on (i) stakeholder-driven and (ii) innovative cereal-legume and grassland plant teams across Europe;
2.4 Identify diversity-based mechanisms that optimize plant team performance in a range of environments, including prospective climate change scenarios;
2.5 Develop novel assembly rules for arable and grassland plant teams;
2.6 Develop user-friendly information packages for breeders and disseminate findings to the scientific community, stakeholders and general public.