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Project properties |
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| Title | What do ontogenetic changes in wood density tell us
about species’ functional strategy? |
| Group | Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-36 |
| Supervisor(s) | Masha van der Sande |
| Examiner(s) | Prof. Lourens Poorter |
| Contact info | masha.vandersande@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2020/05/01 |
| End date | |
| Description | MSc thesis / MSc internship
A tree experiences strongly changing pressures during its lifetime. For example, protection from herbivores and other physical damage may be more important in early life stages, whereas support is important for later life stages. The wood density is an important functional trait that integrates many different functional aspects of a tree (support, defense against drought and herbivory, and shade-tolerance). However, we know little of how wood density changes during a tree’s lifetime, and how this differs between tree species. Here, you can work with a large dataset of wood density and wood dry matter content taken along the radial gradient of the stem of 593 individual trees, belonging to 171 species from tropical forests in Bolivia, Guyana and Brazil. You can also link these data to other functional traits (e.g. specific leaf area, nutrient concentrations, toughness) to species’ functional strategies. Corona proof: i.e.no field work (abroad) or intensive lab studies required Ecophysiology/ America's/ Tropical zone/ Desk study |
| Used skills | Statistical skills (preferably in R software). |
| Requirements | FEM-30306 Forest Ecology and Forest Management and
REG-31806 Ecological Methods I (or comparable statistical experience and tree ecology) |