Biomass: Dynamics and production of plants and plant communities

Head: Pierre COUTERON (IRD)

Challenges

The organisation and dynamics of plant communities are the basis for the functioning of ecosystems and the production of multiple goods and services. Vegetation responses to anthropogenic pressures and climate change are at the heart of a feedback loop that still holds many uncertainties. Understanding these responses is a scientific priority, with a view to anticipating the impact of current and future global changes.

Objectives

To understand the dynamics of plants and plant communities - both spontaneous and cultivated - through their strategies for acquiring and allocating resources according to environmental constraints.

Main topics of interest

  • Growth, resource allocation and the shaping of structural and functional elements of plants
  • Individual plasticity in relation to environmental forcings and overall community dynamics
  • Role of vegetation in landscape structure and biogeochemical cycles

Approach

The line also aims at defining and validating models for upscaling detailed local data in the form of integrating biophysical variables (leaf indices, above-/below-ground biomass, etc.) that can be assessed on large spatiotemporal scales, particularly for tropical areas where information sources are rare. The line aims at integrating these variables to structure-function-production models addressing different spatio-temporal scales, for resource management, the study of biogeochemical cycles and as a contribution to global biosphere-climate models.

Expected results

This line aims providing (remote sensing - terrestrial, airborne, spatial -, architectural diagnosis, etc.), for academic or operational stakeholders, to characterise the three-dimensional structure of plants and stands. Definition and validation of models for upscaling detailed local data in the form of integrating biophysical variables (leaf indices, above-/below-ground biomass, etc.) that can be assessed on large spatiotemporal scales, particularly for tropical areas where information sources are rare. Integration of these variables in structure-function-production models on different spatio-temporal scales, for resource management, the study of biogeochemical cycles and as a contribution to global biosphere-climate models. The fundamental and technical issues addressed by the Biomass line of research underpin many applications for sustainable agricultural or (agro)forestry production, mapping of ecosystem services and species habitats, plant resource assessment, land use planning, and the development of bio-inspired techniques.