Elemental Glacial Chronosequence (EGC)

Summary:
The concept of ecological succession, both primary and secondary, remains a fundamental ecological process. However, many of the mechanisms behind the process of succession remain elusive, such as the role of organism competition and facilitation due to changing biophysical properties of the environment like, like nutrient availability. The deglaciated valleys of the Alt Pirineu Park, such as the Noguera Pallagresa Valley, with their moraines and peaks, serve as invaluable resource to study ecological succession offering researchers a chronosequence of ecosystems undergoing initial primary succession at high altitude to later stages at low altitude. The geological chronology of this valley has been extensively studied, which provides us with critical information about the different deglaciation periods. These deglaciated areas allow us to build chronosequences through different moraines of contrasting environmental conditions, providing a valuable scenario to study primary succession. Here we will investigate how the elemental composition changes within plant species throughout primary succession, as well as due to changes in their environmental conditions (e.g., stoniness, soil depth, nutrient availability) and testing our hypothesis that there are thresholds in the biophysical properties of soil influencing ecological succession as well as in the elemental composition of organisms, particularly during early successional stages in order to refine our understanding of ecosystem evolution and better anticipate future trajectories, in high mountains, based on climate predictions.

Principal investigator:
Filipe Andrade
Funders:
Salvador Grau i Tort fellowship (Alt Pirineu Natural Park)
Type of project: Competitive
Reference: Not available
Host institutions:
CREAF
Funding 2024: 1450 €
Start date: 1 June 2024
End date: 30 November 2025
Working team:
Dr. Roger Grau
Dr. Xin Song
Judith Solé
Dr. Marcos Fernández-Martínez