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Ecological and Environmental Change Research Group
MSc project

Vegetation sensitivity and climate

Alistair Seddon

A world map showing the sensitivity of vegetation to climate
Photo:
Seddon et al.

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How sensitive are Earth's ecosystems to climate variability?

We recently developed a new method to map sensitivity to climate variability, from which two key questions arise.

  • Are these persistent features of different ecosystem types (i.e. sensitive ecosystems are always sensitive because of plant adaptation strategies/traits)?
  • Are they the result of historical disturbances (e.g. climate, land-use)?

A number of different methods (e.g. satellite-based, field-based, palaeoecological studies) can be used to address these questions, involving research with global implications.

Interested? Contact Alistair Seddon