Please note that this is a rescheduled seminar 

Title

The role of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning in forests

Abstract

It is now widely accepted that diversity in plant communities enhances the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, understanding how pervasive declines in global biodiversity will affect ecosystem services and human quality of life is a central question of our time. Invertebrate and soil biotic communities are extremely complex and diverse, yet our knowledge of how biodiversity within these groups influences ecosystem processes is scant compared to what is known about the functional role of vegetation diversity. In this talk, I will 1) explore our recent work demonstrating the impact of key soil invertebrate groups in maintaining processes such as seed dispersal and decomposition and the cascading impacts of changes in invertebrate diversity for seedling success and 2) summarise my research plans for the coming years here at Bristol, which will focus on the role of diversity in soil biotic communities in mediating tree productivity and carbon storage in European forests.

Hannah Griffiths