Local Moveclim coordinator
Pr. Rosalina. M. DE ALMEIDA GABRIEL, Universidade dos Açores, has long been interested in
bryophyte ecology and biogeography. In the context of this project she will be
involved in collecting and identifying bryophytes in the Azores as well as in
helping to write the resulting papers and supervising students enrolled in this project.
Débora
Sofia Gouveia Henriques (PhD student in Azores University):
Bryophyte diversity across altitudinal gradients
in the Azores: Looking for signs of climate change in the functional hyperspace
E-mail:
debhenriques.at.gmail.com
Ongoing climate changes are known to affect species
distribution, causing range shifts towards higher grounds. Accordingly,
determining diversity and distribution patterns and their underlying causes
along altitudinal gradients can help us assess how species will respond to
future climate variations. This project intends to contribute to the knowledge
of the Azorean bryophyte diversity along altitudinal and longitudinal gradients
and at different functional levels in Pico, Terceira, S. Miguel and Flores,
covering all three groups of islands in the Azores archipelago. Richness and
abundance patterns of epiphytic bryophytes will be accounted for and connected
to variables such as climate, geometric constraints, pH of the bark, age of the
island and vegetation structure. Functional traits will be compared along the
gradients and tied to specific ecological niches. Determining diversity
patterns between islands and altitudes while seeking to relate them to
environmental factors can help predict how the archipelago’s bryoflora will
behave according to future climate change scenarios. This knowledge will allow
policy makers to redefine local conservation strategies and to raise public
awareness to the important role of bryophytes in ecosystem services.
Márcia Catarina Mendes
Coelho (PhD student in Azores University):
Bryophytes from native vegetation areas facing climate change:
Ecophysiological diversity and resilience
Ecophysiological diversity and resilience
My study consists in exploring and understanding
the physiological and ecological features of some targeted bryophytes, in
describing the altitudinal diversity patterns of bryophytes within their
microhabitats in native forest of Pico Island (Azores archipelago). Located in
the North Atlantic with nine islands of volcanic origin, the Azores archipelago
is formed predominantly by indigenous laurel forest, and presents a great range
of habitats for bryophytes, due to the diversity of microhabitats and the hyper‐humid
conditions it provides. Laurel forests showing important biological and
ecological similarities with some tropical cloud forests, they are
characterized by luxuriant bryophyte assemblages, in terms of biodiversity,
endemism, and biomass.
My objectives are:
- to survey bryophyte communities present in native vegetation, along an altitudinal gradient (0 m – 2350 m) in Pico Island, examining different substrata (corticolous, terricolous, eiphyllous, lignicolous, rupicolous, humicolous),
- to identify ecosystem services performed by bryophytes in Laurisilva forest regarding water holding and carbon sink ability,
- to characterize the responses of bryophytes to increased environmental stresses, using mainly photosynthetic pigments as response variable on abundant species,
- to model species distribution including species ecophysiological constraints.