​other research  

Responses of Mediterranean forests to drought

The first steps into fascinating ‘world’ of tree ecophysiology were taken during my master thesis first, and then during my PhD in Marco Borghetti's group at the University of Basilicata, working with Antonio Saracino (the University of Naples Federico II), Francesco Ripullone and Angelo Nolé. I had the chance to get involved in many national and European-funded projects aiming to investigate physiological mechanisms underlying responses of Mediterranean forests to drought. Manipulation experiments were carried out where drought was imposed on seedlings in a nursery and at the plot level, on mature trees in a Mediterranean macchia. Main physiological responses were monitored, with particular reference to  contribution of stomatal and non-stomatal limitations on photosynthesis, and the hydraulic strategies trees adopted under prolonged soil water limitation were assessed.

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Ripullone et al. 2011. Functional Plant Biology 38,177-186
Ripullone et al. 2009 iForest 2, 59-66
Ripullone et al. 2009. Trees-Structure and Function 23 (4), 823-834
Ripullone et al. 2007. Trees- Structure and Function 23, 137-144

A typical Mediterranean macchia (near Rome) dominated by Arbutus unedo where precipitation removal and addition were carried out in two consecutive growing seasons. Photo credit: Francesco Ripullone.

Leaf traits of tropical species along a nutrient gradient.

One of the plots in western Amazonia (Tambopata) where sampling of branches was carried out by a tree climber to measure leaf gas exchanges. Foto credit: Jake Bryant

The leaf gas exchange team at one of the plots along the Trocha Union transect in the Peruvian Andes. From the left to the rigth: Odhran O'Sullivan, Yoko Ishida, and myself.

The JACARE expedition (PIs: Patrick Meir, Owen Atkin, Yadivinder Malhi, Greg Asner, Norma Salinas and John Lloyd, contributed to better understanding the drivers of leaf photosynthesis of tree species in tropical moist forests in the Andes/western Amazon regions of Peru
During an intensive fieldwork (through July-October 2011), photosynthetic capacity (Vcmax and Jmax), leaf respiration, and leaf traits (leaf mass, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations) were measured over 200 tree species (on + 1000 leaves!) at 18 field sites along a 3300-m elevation gradient stretching from lowland western Amazonia (11 plots, elevation 117–223 m asl) to the Andean tree line (7 plots, 1527–3379 m asl) in Peru. I was happy to be part of the enthusiastic and collaborative team leading leaf gas exchange measurements, which included my colleagues Yoko Ishida, Thomas Domingues, Lasantha Weerasinghe and Odhran O'Sullivan, and several local research staff from the University of Cusco. Data we collected and analyzed were used for four publications, but also shared in the global dataset TRY database so to be make them available to a broader scientific community, particularly modelers. 

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Fyllas et al. 2017.  Ecology Letters 20 (6), 730-740
Malhi et al. 2016. New Phytologist 214 (3), 1019-1032
Bahar et al. 2016. New Phytologist 214 (3), 1002-1018
Atkin et al. 2015. New Phytologist 206 (2), 614-636

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