Plant Biology

Cluster

Land and Environment (AT)

Description

Members of the Plant Biology research group at DI4A have expertise in botany, plant taxonomy, plant physiology, ecophysiology and plant ecology. The group adopts a functional approach aimed at linking the various scales of investigation, from population response to ecosystems and landscape.

In particular, the activities of this group concern energy metabolism during biotic and abiotic stress phenomena, the determination and characterization of primary and secondary metabolites and their distribution at both cellular and whole-plant level as well as their possible antifungal/fungistatic action. In addition, the unit staff has expertise in: the conventional and molecular identification of plant species; the analysis of phenological and dendroecological aspects related to climate change; the development of distribution models of plant species and their communities in both alpine and lagoon environments.

In the field of plant ecology and applied botany, the group has conducted research on the relationship between anthropogenic ecosystems and biological invasion, environmental restoration and the broad topic of agroecology. It studies the relationships between landscape, biological invasion and the effect of sustainable agronomic techniques on agroecosystem plant communities and related ecosystem services. The group has worked on the ecology of environmental restoration and biodiversity monitoring. It has carried out applied research in the field of vegetation mapping and the application of GIS and remote sensing tools (multispectral images, LiDAR) to vegetation science. It has conducted syntaxonomic studies and floristic studies in areas of naturalistic interest.

Research subjects

Ruolo di canali e proteine della membrana interna mitocondriale nella morte programmata vegetale
Ruolo di metaboliti secondari vegetali nella risposta delle piante allo stress.
Studio di carboidrati non strutturali in specie vegetali in relazione a stress ambientali e cambiamenti climatici.
Studio delle relazioni tra comunità vegetali e fattori ambientali in sistemi terrestri e di transizione sottoposti a disturbi naturali e antropici
Study of seed physiology in relation to conservation and restoration actions of rare and endemic species
Effects of climate change in Alpine systems
Invasione biologica
Plant species distribution, floristics and geobotany
Ecological restoration and management of protected areas
Application of plant extracts obtained from waste