5-6 september 2024.
More information in: https://giepropias.ujaen.es/index.php?r=site%2Fficha-curso&id_estudio=829
Plant communities are complex ecological systems, made up of a multitude of elements (species) that interact with each other in different ways. The dynamics of these communities and their response to disturbances (e.g., fires, climate change) depend to a large extent on the outcome (positive, negative, or neutral) of interactions between plant species and between these and various organisms (e.g., mutualists, antagonists). Plant-to-plant recruitment networks provide a new framework for the study of the structure and dynamics of plant communities. These networks describe which species are recruited in spaces dominated by other already established plants, so that individuals of the recruited species can coexist with established plants or replace them when the latter die. This process establishes a dynamic that can allow the community to persist in a stable way or its transformation in the long term. Beyond merely describing recruitment networks, this new approach allows us to assess the relative importance of different mechanisms that drive plant-plant interactions (e.g., mycorrhizal fungal or pathogenic interactions, complementarity of functional traits between plants) and to explore their potential effect on community structure and dynamics.
The recruitment networks framework provides new perspectives to (1) address hypotheses about the dynamics, structure and resilience of plant communities, (2) investigate the role of different components of biodiversity in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems and (3) develop applications in the field of conservation and restoration of these ecosystems, particularly useful in the current context of habitat and biodiversity loss. Since this novel field of research in plant community ecology is in full development, it is essential to provide researchers who wish to apply it with a solid foundation in the theory and working methods used in their study.