1) Studying the consequences of climate change on tropical ecosystems.
We have established many permanent plots across all sorts of ecosystems in Kerala. Most of our plots are of One hectare size and one 10 hectare large scale plot in the wet evergreen forest of Sholayar range, southern Western Ghats. We are focusing on the dynamics of plant communities and animals in collaboration with various other groups around the globe. We follow Smithsonian CTFS methods for the establishment and maintenance of our long term monitoring plots. We are currently monitoring more than 40,000 individuals falling under 350 plant species.
2) Why do certain plants have peculiar life history strategies, like synchronized flowering across the population and semelparous reproduction?
We are using Strobilanthus kunthianus as a model system to address the challenging questions of different life history strategies of various plants. Strobilanthus kunthianus is a member of the Acanthaceae family and it is distributed in the high altitude grasslands of southern parts of Western Ghats. They show semelparous reproductive strategy and a synchronized flowering event of 12-year intervals.
3) How does climate change affect the physiology and phenology of Mangrove ecosystems of Kerala?
Our lab has established two permanent plots of one-hectare size in mangrove ecosystems in the Kannur and Kollam districts. Currently, we are looking at the intraspecific and interspecific variations in the leaf functional traits of mangroves. Plant functional traits are best proxies to understand the interplay between the fundamental process of plants and environmental factors. We also study the phenology of mangrove ecosystems and which aims at deciphering the reproductive strategies of different mangrove species and we hope the phenology study can tell us the impact of climate change on this highly specialized and multi-stressed ecosystem.
We have established many permanent plots across all sorts of ecosystems in Kerala. Most of our plots are of One hectare size and one 10 hectare large scale plot in the wet evergreen forest of Sholayar range, southern Western Ghats. We are focusing on the dynamics of plant communities and animals in collaboration with various other groups around the globe. We follow Smithsonian CTFS methods for the establishment and maintenance of our long term monitoring plots. We are currently monitoring more than 40,000 individuals falling under 350 plant species.
2) Why do certain plants have peculiar life history strategies, like synchronized flowering across the population and semelparous reproduction?
We are using Strobilanthus kunthianus as a model system to address the challenging questions of different life history strategies of various plants. Strobilanthus kunthianus is a member of the Acanthaceae family and it is distributed in the high altitude grasslands of southern parts of Western Ghats. They show semelparous reproductive strategy and a synchronized flowering event of 12-year intervals.
3) How does climate change affect the physiology and phenology of Mangrove ecosystems of Kerala?
Our lab has established two permanent plots of one-hectare size in mangrove ecosystems in the Kannur and Kollam districts. Currently, we are looking at the intraspecific and interspecific variations in the leaf functional traits of mangroves. Plant functional traits are best proxies to understand the interplay between the fundamental process of plants and environmental factors. We also study the phenology of mangrove ecosystems and which aims at deciphering the reproductive strategies of different mangrove species and we hope the phenology study can tell us the impact of climate change on this highly specialized and multi-stressed ecosystem.