Anthropogenic climate change has already started to affect the distribution of species. Species are not only valuable in their own right, but also because they are responsible for the capture, conversion and flow of energy and nutrients through ecosystems. It has proven challenging to study the impacts of climate change on ecosystem processes, first because effects on single species cannot be extrapolated to the complex network of species interactions, second because it is difficult to manipulate entire ecosystems, and third because it is not clear how results from one location can be used to predict responses across entire regions when species show biogeographic turnover in composition and traits. Our approach to these issues is two-fold. First, we will manipulate a small, spatially discrete food web (the microbial-faunal food web inhabiting water-filled bromeliads) to determine the role of species interactions in determining ecosystem responses. Second, we take advantage of the fact that our focal food web occurs over a broad biogeographic gradient to examine the generality of food web responses. We concentrate on precipitation because it is understudied (compared to temperature) and has potentially profound impact for ecosystems, and specifically on Neotropical ecosystems, which are expected to lose more species than their temperate counterparts. The general aims of this project are: (1) to understand the interaction between biogeographic changes and climate change, and (2) to disseminate a robust, multi-regional theory of how climate affects ecosystems. Our project comprises three hierarchical tasks: (i) To determine if the responses of populations and multipartite interactions (from bacteria to metazoa) and ecosystem function (carbon and nitrogen dynamics, decomposition, carbon dioxide and methane emission) to altered precipitations differ between countries; (ii) To use a biogeographic analogue experiment inspired from geneticists’ twin studies to determine whether this variance between countries is driven by biogeographic changes in species composition or differences in local conditions; (iii) To disentangle the direct effects of precipitation change mediated by organism physiology from the indirect effects mediated by interactions between species. To answer these questions, we will experimentally change precipitation entering bromeliad ecosystems from baseline levels in 3 field sites covering the range of faunal diversity in general in the Americas: French Guiana, the centre of bromeliad radiation and a hotspot for bromeliad faunal diversity, Costa Rica which has a moderate species pool, and Puerto Rico, a Caribbean site with a depauperate species pool. If we understand the mechanisms underlying biogeographic effects, we can consider how our results can be extrapolated to unstudied portions of the biogeographic gradient. We will experimentally increase or decrease precipitation entering bromeliads to study effects on the bromeliad ecosystem. Manipulations will involve either a 40% decrease in rainfall by deflecting rain with cone-shaped shelters, a 40% increase by concentrating rain with inverted (funnel-shaped) shelters, or no change (shelter sides vertical). Our major findings will be disseminated to scientists, students, stakeholders, and public schools. Ecologists have a limited timeframe in which studies on consequences of climate change will be useful to society, so need to seek shortcuts by which results from particular fieldsites can be extrapolated to other regions with differing species pool. This project will provide a fresh approach on how to predict the ecosystem consequences of climate change.

The AQUILASCENT project proposes to analyze the chemical composition of agarwood (oud) by focusing on the volatile constituents responsible for the characteristic odor of this very valuable natural raw material. The identification of impact odorants will be achieved by a combination of one- and two-dimensional gas chromatography and fractionation techniques followed by structural analysis (NMR), as well as by gas chromatography coupled with olfactometry (GC-O). This study will highlight the olfactory quality markers of agarwood essential oils, which will serve as a guide for the second part of the project conducted in experimental plots in French Guiana where Aquilaria specimens have been planted in the framework of the Aquila@Guyane project, in order to develop a Guianese agarwood production chain. Samples of agarwood will be taken from these trees, and their chemical composition will be analyzed in light of the results of essential oil analysis, to determine which trees produce the odorous secondary metabolites of interest. The analysis of fungal populations on these same samples will be done by genetic analysis methods, and will determine which microorganisms are responsible for the generation of the molecular markers of olfactory quality. The AQUILASCENT project thus aims to help optimize the production methods of Guyanese agarwood by precisely characterizing the nature of the fungal strains used to induce the infection, their mode of inoculation and the different parameters leading to the finished product. In conclusion, this academic work will complement in a very relevant way the Aquila@Guyana project, whose applied research objective is to promote the eco-responsible Guianese agarwood industry, which hopes to offer competitive high value-added products on the market for this raw material, which has been dominated until now by Asian countries.

Forests are a major reservoir of biodiversity and trees, as keystone organisms, directly impact the diversity and functioning of forest communities. Predicting the response of trees to ongoing global change (GC) is thus a critical scientific and societal issue. Along with phenotypic plasticity and migration, genetic adaptation is a central component of this response, particularly in trees whose high levels of diversity and long distance gene flow facilitates the spread of favorable genes. However, the existence of abundant genetic variation does not guarantee adaptation: if the climate and environmental changes are too quick, or genetic modifications are too slow, the population would go extinct before it can adapt to the new environmental challenges. Our hypothesis is that there is a critical level of genetic diversity for stress responses, which, together with the demographic impact of stress, predicts the likelihood of adaptation or extinction. The main goal of TipTree is to identify tipping points in the demographic and micro-evolutionary dynamics of tree populations, and to assess how human actions interfere in the adjustment between the rate of evolution and the velocity of GC. TipTree benefits from the BiodivERsA project LinkTree (2009-2012) which investigates the evolutionary response of key forest tree species to GC by analyzing the spatial variation of stress tolerance candidate genes along environmental gradients. But TipTree brings a new and critical dimension, that of time, by focusing on regeneration. In trees, regeneration (from fertilization to early plant recruitment) is a key period of the life cycle, when selection is expected to be very strong and has the potential to catalyze the rapid spread of evolutionary novelties in the next generation. The amount of genetic variation available in adults and how it is transmitted, selected and expressed in juveniles will condition the ecological properties of the whole ecosystem in the next decades to centuries, which remains a challenging short and non-equilibrium term of evolution for long-lived organisms. Specifically, our consortium will: 1) Screen the ecological and geographical margins of widespread keystone forest trees from different ecoregions (Temperate, Boreal, Mediterranean and Tropical) to identify where recent environmental changes have provoked shifts in allele frequencies at adaptive genes and to quantify these shifts by contrasting parent and offspring genetic and phenotypic compositions. We will address key environmental drivers: water stress, temperature regime, storm/fire frequency, pest outbreaks. Using natural and controlled (reciprocal transplants, common gardens) populations from existing Pan-European networks, we will generate large arrays of genomic polymorphisms using innovative genomic approaches, 2) Test the existence and evaluate the magnitude of tipping points for tree population dynamics at micro-evolutionary scales, by using a new generation of models coupling biophysics, population dynamics and quantitative genetics. We will feed these models with (i) climate change scenarios provided by IPCC, (ii) forest management scenarios established by our stakeholder group and (iii) our experimental results on adaptive genetic diversity. Micro-evolution of tree populations will be simulated at local and regional scales, and will provide forecasts of ecosystem services (carbon budget and water balance) and decision support for management.

Plant exudates represent a unique system to examine the role of trait diversification on adaptive radiation. Exudates have arisen independently in at least 40 families across six orders and occur in ca. 20,000 plant species (15% of tropical taxa). The evolution of exudates may have driven the successful diversification of many of these lineages, and families bearing latex and resin are among the most species rich suggesting that the benefits of exudate production may also promote ecological dominance. The multiple independent evolutions of exudates with diverse chemistries, represent an opportunity to investigate convergent adaptation as a possible driver of angiosperm radiation. Latex plants are distributed widely in various habitats and have evolved in a convergent manner several times during evolution throughout the plant kingdom indicating poly-phylogenetic origin. However, apart from a few taxa that have been commercialized or used as models of plant defense theory, the biology of latex plant exudates remains understudied; the role of exudates in lineage diversification is still unknown; and exhaustive studies of their enzymatic and chemical diversity and phenotypic plasticity have not been reported. Latex is a multidimensional trait described by biochemical, chemical and physical properties and unique anatomical characteristics (laticifer cells). Several functional roles have been attributed to latex: (i) chemical defense and (ii) physical defense (against herbivores, pathogens and wounds), and (iii) storage of water, metabolic wastes or nutrients. Because any of these functions may play a role in diversification, latex can provide insights into a multidimensional suite of evolutionary processes. Nevertheless, to date no integrative study has investigated latex functions in the context of species interactions and evolutionary patterns at broad phylogenetic scales. To elucidate the role of enzymes producing terpenes in latex and their impacts to latex plants diversification, AMAZYME project investigates (i) the diversity of oxidosqualene cyclases (OSC) and prenyltransferases (PT) involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoids and polyisoprene respectively, and (ii) the rheological properties of latexes, across 23 tree species (5 families) in French Guiana. Using traditional (RT-PCR) and state-of-the art (RNAseq) approaches in molecular biology we propose the first comparative study of oxidosqualene cyclases and prenyltransferases evolution in Amazonian latex plants and how enzyme diversity correlate with other functional traits and represent functional tradeoffs. The quantification of OSC and PT gene expressions within and among plant lineage in contrasted habitats (clay terra firme, seasonally flooded forest, white sand forest) during wet and dry seasons is relevant to study the impacts of abiotic conditions to latex production, specifically in the context of climate change. In parallel the first comparative study of rheological properties and coagulation rate of fresh latex is proposed to evaluate potential correlation with OSC and PT gene expression to demonstrate that fast latex coagulation is associated with a physical defense (PT, polyisoprene) whereas slow latex coagulation indicates the presence of bioactive metabolites (OSC, triterpenes) involved in a chemical defense that substitutes the need of a physical barrier. The AMAZYME project will assemble a wealth of information on the phylogenetic history and distribution of targeted lineages, the exhaustive chemical analysis of terpenoids in the latex metabolome, the diversity OSC and PT, and the rheological properties of latex will lift the veil of evolutionary driving force regarding environmental conditions, to highlight specific mutations in dry habitats in the context of climate change. Finally, the discovery of many original PT genes contributes to the development of bioengineered rubber production to reduce pressure on rubber tree plantations in South Asia.

FORCES aims towards establishing an evidence-based nature-based solutions (NbS) framework by implementing innovative forest-based solutions. FORCES seeks to develop ecosystem-based adaptation actions that simultaneously preserve high levels of biodiversity, ensure sustaining natural capital and the flow of ecosystem services while protecting communities’ livelihoods and contributing to climate change mitigation. Considering that combined actions on climate, biodiversity and societal challenges cannot efficiently be achieved without multiple actors’ engagement in local actions, FORCES’s strategy is to develop local innovation actions, provide methods and tools to support their extended use and assess their potential global impacts. Thus, FORCES will: i) conduce trans-disciplinary research based on new developments in environmental and social sciences underpinned by stakeholders’ expertise; ii) design, implement and assess local innovation actions based on stakeholders’ engagement; iii) address cross-scale issues from local actions to global impacts; iv) elaborate a tool box of science-based methodologies and standards to promote the use of nature-based solutions that contribute to achieving specific UN sustainable development goals, combining SDG13 “Climate action” and SDG15 “Life on land”, and address societal challenges. FORCES will develop research and innovation actions in various types of forest socio-ecosystems, aiming to generalize forest-based solutions, and will interact with similar projects on other ecosystems through a clustering approach as mentioned in the call. Forests are appropriate for this research and innovation action because: (1) forests harbor an important terrestrial biodiversity and are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to cumulative effects of annual climate on trees, (2) forests are social-ecological systems providing multiple ecosystem services and contributing to people welfare, they are a lever for C-sequestration and substitution, (3) in the context of global change and multiple uncertainties, the emergence of a new paradigm in forest management offers opportunities to innovate, (4) forests are at the cross-road of multiple EU policies but biodiversity and climate objectives are not yet considered jointly in forest policies and strategies. NbS will be designed and assessed in six types of forest systems in Europe and the CELAC. These Innovation Action Areas will be supported by associated Research Sites for data acquisition and model calibration. Multiple time frames will be considered to account for uncertainties in global change scenarios (2035, 2050, 2100).