EPSO input to FP7 ENV:
WPs 2012-13
Draft 3, 10 September 2010:
Background:
The EPSO Working Group on Environment was established in 2009 to
- Develop input to the Work Programme of the FP7- Environment theme
- Develop input to the Joint Programming “Agriculture, food security and climate change”
- Promote biodiversity research for crops and trees to be considered in an environment
programme in FP8.
The Working Group members are: C Plomion (lead; plomion@pierroton.inra.fr ), B Osborne, T
Vanek, L Colombo
► More members to the working group are welcome
In the FP7 Environment Programme, two sub-activities relevant for plant research:
- 6.2.1.4. Biodiversity
- 6.2.1.6. Integrated forest research.
Emerging issues of ENV for Subactivity 6.2.1. Conservation and sustainable management of
natural and man-made resources and biodiversity
Proposed topics for the FP7 ENV - WP 2012-13
Draft 3
10.9.2010:
The working group developed 3 draft topics, presented at the General Meeting and welcomes input
from EPSO membership:
 A Kremer (FR): Evolutionary change under climate change – predict forest adaptation
p.2
 Oliver Brendel (FR): Traits and genes for adaptation to soil water status in forests
p.2
 Lucia Colombo (IT): Climate change, plant reproductive mis-timing and biodiversity loss
p.3
► Track changes, additional topic proposals (max 2 for 2012, max 3 for 2013) are welcome
EPSO input FP7 – Environment theme – WPs 2012-13
Draft 3, 10.9.2010
p. 1 of 3
Proposed Topics for ENV 2012 (currently 2; 1-2 might be added)
Evolutionary change under climate change. Predicting forest adaptation via comparative
genomics and ecology
(contact Antoine Kremer: kremer@pierroton.inra.fr)
Nearly 40% of Europe and North America is covered by forests, which provide important
ecosystem services, biomass and wood resources Their persistence is challenged today by the
increasing evidence of the ongoing climate change occurring at a much faster rate than during the
past natural climatic oscillations. However the extent of the evolutionary change that these longlived species may be able to undergo remains an open field of research and requires an
interdisciplinary approach combining genetics ecology, genomics and evolution.
The research project should identify key evolutionary mechanisms enhancing local
adaptation by using a variety of complementary approaches ranging from retrospective analysis
during the Holocene, contemporary tracking of ecological and genetic processes in translocation
experiments, and future expected responses based on simulation methods. The project may
further infer mechanisms based on comparative explorations of population differentiation along
pertinent environmental gradients that can be conducted across continents. These explorations
should encompass genome wide scanning of adaptive genomic-phenotypic diversity and detailed
ecological dissection of environmental gradients. Major emphasis is also targeted to the integration
of genetic and ecological data in an evolutionary context, in order to draw conclusions about the
inherent adaptive capacity of forest tree populations.
It is of mutual benefit to partners on both sides of the Atlantic to collaborate on this issue
and it is expected that complementary and coordinated approaches are implemented across
species, environmental clines and gradients, or communities.
Diversity of traits and genes of adaptive significance for adaptation to soil water
status in forest ecosystems
(contact Oliver Brendel: brendel@nancy.inra.fr)
It is now clear that forest ecosystems will have to face a major change in the climatic
regime. In particular, ecosystems are expected to undergo changes in rainfall, both in
absolute amount and in seasonal distribution. This will take place at an unprecedented rate,
within less than one tree generation. Increasing our knowledge on diversity and plasticity of
functional traits in forest trees and on their adaptive significance is crucial to predict future
tree distributions, adapt our management to the ongoing global change and protect genetic
resources and biodiversity. Thanks to the increasing amount of information on plant
genomics and gene function, it is now possible to discover genes and unveil processes
related to traits of ecological interest, in particular responses to water and nutrient
availabilities. Climatic change is taking place worldwide but the context relevant for forest
managers is local. Hence, comparative approaches of relevant traits and genes in different
forest ecosystems should be given particular attention. Collaborative research should
combine complementary approaches, i.e. assess and model environmental response
functions, identify the genetic control of adaptive traits, study the association between allelic
diversity of genes and trait responses, and investigate the regulation of gene expression.
Research should focus on the genetic diversity of adaptive traits as well as of related
candidate genes. This diversity should be investigated in relation with adaptation (and
adaptive potential) to local future environmental conditions, taking into account expected
climatic changes. This would help assess plasticity and thus resilience of forest
ecosystems.
Funding scheme:
SICA Medium-sized collaborative research project with focus on the Meso- and
South-America and Sub-Saharan Africa (with special attention to the Amazonian
and Congo Basins) and European ecosystems as reference.
EPSO input FP7 – Environment theme – WPs 2012-13
Draft 3, 10.9.2010
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Proposed Topics for ENV 2013 (currently 1; 1-3 might be added)
Title
(contact Lucia Colombo: lucia.colombo@unimi.it)
Mechanistic understanding of the control of reproductive timing in plants is essential to
understand and predict biodiversity loss due to reproductive failure as a consequence of climate
change. Some reproductive phases, such as flowering time, are more strongly affected by
temperature in some plant lineages, which causes changes in phenology with increasing
temperatures. In other plant lineages, the same reproductive phases are more strongly influenced
by day length. As a consequence, different plant lineages are differently affected by climate
change.
The discrepancy in tempo and mode of genetic and ecological control on reproductive traits may
lead to loss of synchronization of the following reproductive stages with some traits able to shift in
their optimum time depending on environmental changes and others that do not, depending both
on the genetic control underpinning the trait and on the genetic variability in the trait itself. For the
latter, how much of it is due to phenotypic plasticity and how much is due to selection? Strong
selection, for example for earlier flowering, may lead to a loss of genetic diversity in affected
populations thus reducing their ability to adapt to a changing environment and might disrupt plantpollinator networks.
EPSO input FP7 – Environment theme – WPs 2012-13
Draft 3, 10.9.2010
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