Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania:
Plant functional traits translated into vegetation dynamics

The KiLi project is a German Science Foundation funded research unit (DFG research unit FOR1246) and was approved in February 2010. The KiLi project studies biodiversity and ecosystem processes on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We combine an empirical and a modelling approach to better understand the relationships between the composition of plant functional traits, environment, and ecosystem functioning in the Kilimanjaro region. The objective is to use the individual and process-based vegetation model FORMIND to study the transient dynamics of vegetation types in response to environmental factors and human disturbances.

The plant trait data sampled in the field will be used to parameterise main parts of the vegetation model. With the help of the vegetation model we will study successional dynamics and the impact of disturbances on tree communities, focusing on the role of plant traits.

More information about the Kili-Project:
https://www.kilimanjaro.biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de/

Contact: Rico Fischer