Responses of Trees and Forests to Variation and Change in Climatic Conditions

0.5 credits · Undergraduate

The course examines the theoretical foundations of water-carbon tradeoffs from individual leaves to biomes. The structure of these flow paths and exchange surfaces reflects evolutionary adaptations that balance the tradeoff under prevailing environmental constraints. This framework allows predicting with reasonable accuracy how climate variation influences the tradeoff and, consequently, tree function. At the forest ecosystem scale, responses become more complex and are additionally shaped by biogeochemical interactions among plants, microorganisms, and insects. The interactions determine ecosystem services, e.g., water yield and carbon sequestration, and their responses to changing climate.