The Environmental Change Ecology Group (GECA) aims to study the ecological
aspects of past and present environmental changes, and applying
ecological knowledge for past reconstructions and future projections.
| Within GRACCIE scientific scheme we contribute with studies
on: |
| 1) |
climate and climate effects reconstructions based on lacustrine
sediment records, |
| 2) |
CO2 consumption in mountain catchments, |
| 3) |
global increase in reactive nitrogen and climate interactions, |
| 4) |
toxification of nature by long-range transport of atmospheric
pollution and |
| 5) |
marine and freshwater species redistribution related to Global
Change. |
In palaeolimnological reconstructions we focus on using biological
proxies (diatoms, chrysophytes, photosynthetic pigments, biogeochemical
indicators) and in developing data and methods for quantitative reconstructions
of climate and biogeochemical variables at high resolution (e.g.
climate seasonality, water alkalinity).
Concerning CO2 consumption, our main
topic at present is crystalline rock weathering using both palaeo
and catchment approaches.
Nitrogen issues are addressed in different ways within the group,
covering stream and lake biogeochemistry and microbial ecology.
Pollutant bioaccumulation in organisms and transport within and
among ecosystems have two main topics related to climate change:
release of accumulated metals from catchments and redistribution
of semivolatile organic pollutants with changing climate, the latter
developed in close collaboration with the Environmental Organic Geochemistry
group.
Finally, topics on aquatic species redistribution cover from microbial
dispersion at long distances to changes in river and lake flora and
fauna in freshwater ecosystem and on invasive species and resource
over-exploitation in marine systems.
|
