VULCAN - project description          

VULCAN involves:

• 10 partners from 6 European countries
• field scale manipulations of temperature and water in 6 European shrubland ecosystems
• socio economic risk assessment of changes in European shrublands
• an end user panel with 10 "end users" representing different end user orientations

In order to manage this highly complex set of partners and activities, the project has been separated into 7 work packages each determining a major important fraction of the project. These are:

• WP1 - Experimental design and site set-up
  Development of manipulation design and set-up of the experimental manipulation facilities to be used in workpackages 2 through 5.
• WP2 - Climate impacts on plants
  Studies of climate driven changes in plant functioning, plant growth and relative species abundance.
• WP3 - Climate impacts on the soil
  Studies of climate driven changes in soil processes leading to significant changes in ecosystem functioning and biodiversity.
• WP4 - Climate impacts on fauna
  Studies of changes in soil fauna groups and the extent of herbivory.
• WP5 - Climate impacts on soil water
  Studies of changes in soil water composition in relation to climatic changes and ecosystem type.
• WP6 - Risk assessment
  Risk assessment and vulnerability scenarios for shrublands in order to evaluate the impacts of future hazards considering the impacts of loss of regional biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and social and economic factors.
• WP7 - Data and management integration and dissemination
  Integration of climate driven effects with management and land use effects including suggestions for alternative management practices. Close collaboration with end user groups on research strategy and information transfer.