Dr. J.H.C. (Hans) Cornelissen

Introduction

How (and how much) do different plant species, plant types and plant traits control carbon and nutrient cycling in different biomes of the world, and how (and how much) do they control ecosystem responses to global changes?
 
Below you will find my main current research projects. You can find my publications on these and other topics by clicking on the button below.

Publications IEW

Research projects

Global Change in Cold Biomes
How do plant species and their functional composition, carbon and nutrient cycles in sub-arctic peat bogs, and in other cold biomes, respond to global changes?

• with Rien Aerts, Richard van Logtestijn and Ellen Dorrepaal we run our in-situ global change experiment in a sub-arctic blanket bog in N-Sweden. This experiment is unique in its factorial combination of treatments including spring and summer warming and winter snow regimes. It is a close collaboration with Terry V. Callaghan and his staff at Abisko Research Station, Academy of Sciences, Sweden. See below for links with international networks. 
• With Simone Lang (PhD student) we run a (NWO-funded) project on circum-arctic responses of cryptogam species and traits and to climate warming and hydrology, which is linked to the European SCANNET network, to ITEX and to the Alaskan Toolik Lake field station (with Gus Shaver, Woods Hole, USA). 
• With the international ‘Meeting of Litters’ team, I run a circum-arctic-alpine experimental meta-analysis in which leaf litters from in-situ ecosystem plots exposed to different global change treatments were collected from the predominant plant species in 33 arctic and alpine experiments in 10 countries. Decomposition rates of over two thousand litter samples have been compared simultaneously in two contrasting arctic life zones in N-Sweden, and are being linked to initial litter quality. Meta-analyses (with Peter van Bodegom and others) allow us to separate the various direct climate effects on decomposition from indirect effects via changes in leaf litter quality within species and from effects via changes in species and functional type composition. 
• See below for our arctic-alpine Dutch-Russian programme, our invertebrate - plant trait project and the Marie-Curie MultiArc programme. 

Abisko Research Station
SCANNET
IGBP-GCTE-TERACC
Toolik Lake field station
International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)

Plant traits and their impacts on Ecosystem Functions and Climate Worldwide
Analysing plant trait data from biomes worldwide in order to detect and quantify fundamental trade-offs in plant design and function and in plant impacts on ecosystems and climate.

• Coordinator of an NWO-funded project on ‘Scaling up from plant traits to vegetation change in cold biomes: common patterns in the European Subarctic and the Caucasus Mountains?’ This project is linking interspecific variation in plant traits to ecosystem processes in two distant cold biomes, with a relatively strong focus on ecosystem impact traits of bryophytes and lichens. We are building a multi-species trait database for the latter as well as for the vascular plants. The project involves several partners from Moscow University (Vladimir Onipchenko, Mikhael Makarov and co-workers), our university (Nadia Soudzilovskaia, Richard van Logtestijn) and Utrecht University (Heinjo During, Marinus Werger).
• Participant in several other regional and global plant trait networks, such as the Global Plant Trait Network (GLOPNET), coordinated by Ian Wright, Mark Westoby (both Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia) Peter Reich (University of Minnesota, St. Paul, USA) and others (see Wright et al. 2004, Nature 428: 821-827); DIVERSUS on ‘Functional biodiversity effects on changing ecosystem processes, ecosystem services and sustainability in the Americas: an interdisciplinary approach’, funded by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research and coordinated by Sandra Díaz (Córdoba, Argentina); RUBICODE (EU) on biodiversity conservation, including links between traits and ecosystem services; the IGBP-QUEST-DIVERSITAS project PFT-FTI on linking plant traits to climate worldwide (for website links see below)
• With Matty Berg and Eva Krab (PhD student) we are running a new (NWO-funded) PhD project on ‘How trait spectra of bryophytes, vascular plants and soil invertebrates interact to control carbon turnover in arctic tundra: mechanisms underlying climate change impacts’, with experimental work in Abisko involving carbon isotope tracking through invertebrates and other parts of peatland mesocosms. This project also has active links with outreach activities in the International Polar Year Programme (IPY).
• Active participant in the ARC-NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function (Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia), especially those relating to plant traits, litter decomposition and climate. Will Cornwell (University of British Columbia, Canada) and I organised two working groups on global meta-analyses of leaf and wood traits traits and litter decomposability (2006, 2008).
• With Gregoire Freschet (PhD student) we are carrying out new experimental studies to link interspecific variation in functional traits of all plant organs to decomposition, for a wide range of species from and in habitats ranging from aquatic to riparian to terrestric. This is an attempt to study the interactive effects of plant traits and hydrology on whole-plant litter decomposition. This work forms part of a carbon flux scaling programme in Abisko (N Sweden) through the EU- Marie Curie-funded project MultiArc, with partners at Sheffield University (Gareth Phoenix et al.), Abisko Research Station (Terry Callaghan et al.) and Lund University, Sweden. 
• Further joint (PhD) studies on traits and decomposition are being prepared or carried out in the provinces of Sichuan and Gansu, China, with colleagues at SW China University, Beibei, Chongqing (Zhong Zhangcheng, QiDaihua) and at Lanzhou University (Du Guozhen, Wei Qi); and with colleagues at the University of Alcala, Spain (Pilar Castro Diez, Oscar Godoy), the latter in the context of invasive species.

Macquarie University and Glopnet
ARC-NZ network
PFT-FTI Traits-Climate
Will Cornwell
Diversus
Rubicode
ENVISNAR
Matty Berg
International Polar Year Netherlands
MultiArc
Pilar Castro Diez

Research Thesis Projects

MSc and BSc projects on several of the above topics are a good and interesting possibility. You can contact me about this. I like to explore new topics and questions and therefore prefer to develop new thesis projects together with the students carrying them out.

Nature of Life Seminars

Please attend one or more of our exciting montly lectures by invited speakers, ranging from established to fast-rising stars. These lectures also form part of an MSc Ecology course with tutorials in which we discuss papers by the guest speakers.

Nature of Life Meetings

Links to colleagues in our department with whom I share projects:

Prof Dr Rien Aerts
Dr Ellen Dorrepaal
Drs Simone Lang
Dr Nadia Soudzilovskaia
Ing Richard van Logtestijn
Dr Peter van Bodegom
Drs EJ Krab
Gregoire Freschet MSc
Drs Frida Keuper

Last update: April 1, 2008