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SUMMARY:Clues for Climate Change Concealed in the Canopy - Diversity and E
 cophysiology of Bryophytes in Peru - Aline Horwath
DTSTART:20100625T120000Z
DTEND:20100625T123000Z
UID:TALK23966@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:15560
DESCRIPTION:Tropical montane cloud forests (TMCF) belong to the most speci
 es-rich terrestrial habitats and are characterized by a prolific and extre
 mely specialised epiphyte flora. Compared to vascular epiphytes such as or
 chids and bromeliads\, epiphytic bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) domina
 te the canopies of TMCF. Being poikilohydric organisms\, water input from 
 rain and fog represents the most limiting factor for photosynthesis and pr
 oductivity of these cryptogams. Epiphytic bryophytes can therefore serve a
 s sensitive indicators of climatic changes in TMCF biomes.\nThis project i
 s set out to examine bryophyte diversity\, abundance and ecophysiology alo
 ng an environmental gradient in southeastern Peru. The aim is to undertake
  an integrated study which analyses canopy profiles of bryophyte species r
 ichness\, biomass and water storage along an altitudinal transect from the
  high Andes to the Amazon lowland forest. Stable isotopes 13C and 18O are 
 used as tracers of plant-environment interactions. Given that the cloud ba
 se and precipitation inputs may shift in response to global warming\, we h
 ypothesize that the cryptogamic flora in TMCF could provide sensitive mark
 ers of changing climatic conditions. 
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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