Vulnerability and dynamics of plant biodiversity under drought stress, a multi-scale approach

Ongoing climate change is disrupting terrestrial ecosystems globally. Among the multiple impacts of climate change on biodiversity, the increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts leads to a dieback of vegetation, as well as a reduction in its capacity to capture atmospheric CO2. In this talk, I will provide an overview of my research, which aims at understanding how drought stress affects plants, from the cell level to the landscape distribution of vegetation. I will show how the impacts on the hydraulic apparatus have a major implication on plant survival. As such, hydraulic traits can help us to better predict plant mortality and distributional shifts under increasing aridity. A special focus of the presentation will be given to the leaves, important organs that carry out the gas exchanges between the plant and the atmosphere. I will present current research on the estimation of water loss after stomatal closure, which has major implications to foresee water depletion. Finally, I will open discussions on my upcoming research projects and collaboration with the local ecophysiology community.