FOREST ECOLOGY & GLOBAL CHANGE LAB

Understanding how major global environmental changes such as climate warming and biodiversity loss are impacting forests is key to informing sustainable ecosystem management. The Forest Ecology and Global Change Lab at the Department of Biology, Maynooth University, focuses on three overarching questions: 1) how are global changes such as increasing temperatures and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide impacting tree physiology, productivity, and distribution, 2) how does loss of tree diversity impact forest ecosystem functioning and 3) how can our understanding of forest ecology be used to restore resilient ecosystems. To address these questions, we combine field-based studies, lab experiments, and modelling approaches. Examples of ongoing research projects include: understanding the effect of tree diversity in planted forests under a rapidly changing climate, investigating the natural colonisation of forest on post-industrial peatlands, and the improved mapping, monitoring, and conservation of Ireland’s ancient woodlands. Find out more about our research here.