 |
- What
we do
- In the
Dovciak lab we study how environmental factors and disturbance affect
the structure and function of terrestrial plant communities and ecosystems.
We are especially interested in the effects of climate, land use/management,
and plant invasions on community composition, diversity, and stability.
In our research we aim to advance ecological theory and to apply it
in improving the current practices in ecosystem management, restoration,
and nature conservation. We are interested in conceptual questions
rather then particular plant taxonomic groups or ecosystems; consequently,
our study objects range from forest trees to herbs to bryophytes and
occur in terrestrial ecosystems ranging from forests to grasslands
located in diverse ecological settings: the Cascades of the Pacific
Northwest, the western Great Lakes region, the Adirondacks in the
eastern U.S., the Sonora region in Mexico, and the Carpathian Mountains
in Europe. Our research broadly falls within the three following areas:
Climate
forcing in plant communities: Implications for climate change
Global
climate
change has the potential to completely restructure contemporary plant
communities and impact virtually all fields of human existence, including
forestry, wildlife management, nature conservation, and agriculture.
Current knowledge of plant community relationships to climate stems
mostly from static "climate-envelope" studies and it is not
sufficient to accurately predict complex responses of plant communities
to climate change. Our research suggests that plant communities may
exhibit non-linear threshold behaviours as they respond to climate extremes
more so than to climate means (Dovciak
et al. 2005). In our work, we seek to further elucidate
the mechanisms by which climate controls plant communities, with the
ultimate goal of improving our ability to predict and adapt to the impacts
of global climate change.
- Plant
invasions & species spread: Mechanisms & patterns
- Changes
in climate or land-use, or introductions of non-native plants, frequently
lead to invasions and spatial spread/migrations of certain plant species
across adjacent plant communities. These invasions are of considerable
applied and theoretical interest because they can significantly alter
ecosystem function and the provision of ecosystem services by invaded
communities, as is well documented for some exotic invaders. The potential
of a plant population to invade the surrounding community and to spread
within it over time, depends on propagule
pressure and species traits of the invader, the properties of the
invaded community, environmental heterogeneity, and climate variability.
Our studies suggest that the spatial pattern and speed of spread depend
on subtle interactions rather than on any singular factor
(Dovciak et al.
2005, Dovciak
et al. 2008). Our goal is to clarify how these interactions
may affect climate change induced migrations of plant species and
the invasive spread of non-native plants.
Forest
dynamics, management, & restoration: Implications for biodiversity
Forests
cover ~ 30% of total land area (FAO
2005) and harbor about two-thirds of all species on earth (World
Bank 2004), including many rare and threatened species. However, global
forest cover has been declining at alarming rates while the proportion
of managed forests has grown in recent decades (FAO
2005). These trends have generally negative impacts on biological
diversity, but the impacts of individual forest management practices
vary considerably and it is important to identify those practices that
minimize biodiversity loss (Dovciak
et al. 2006, Wiezik
et al. 2007).
Some forest management practices can be used effectively in forest restoration
to increase structural and biological diversity for example in dense
and homogenous secondary forest stands. In our studies we hope to increase
the understanding of the effects of various forest management and restoration
approaches on forest plant communities and forest biodiversity. We are
also interested in increasing our understanding of the drivers of the
population dynamics of ecologically and economically important forest
plant species (e.g., Dovciak et
al. 2001, 2003).
Details
about our main ongoing research projects are here. |
