Introductory seminar: “Tropical tree water economy in a changing climate”

The overall aim of Brigitte’s PhD project is  to identify tree water-use strategies controlling growth and survival in a broad range of tropical tree species and to what extent they can acclimate to heat and drought. The results will guide species selection for tree plantation and forest restoration in Rwanda and beyond, hence promoting resilient forests in a changing climate. See more below. 
Brigitte’s main supervisor is Johan Uddling, with Myriam Mujawamariya (University of Rwanda), Camille Ziegler (University of Bordeaux, France) and  Göran Wallin (BioEnv)as co-supervisor and Malin Celander (BioEnv) as examiner.

Short abstract
Tropical forests are vital ecosystems for livelihoods, biodiversity, and climate regulation. However, they are also vulnerable to climate change, particularly heat and drought. These conditions have caused increased tree mortality as well as a declining carbon sink and shifts in tree community composition in tropical forests during recent decades. The vulnerability of tropical trees to climate change largely depends on their ability to maintain and acclimate hydraulic functioning to warmer and drier conditions. However, knowledge about water economy of tropical tree species under heat and drought is limited. This study will fill the gap by identifying water-use strategies controlling growth and survival of a broad range of tropical tree species under heat and drought. Different water use traits and processes (water uptake, transport, storage and loss) will be studied across diverse tree species grown in common gardens along an elevation gradient in Rwanda (www.rwandatree.com) to identify which species are most vulnerable to heat and drought and which are more likely to endure and shape the future composition of tropical forests.