Coexistence and dynamics of clonal plants
 

Spatiotemporal dynamics of communities of clonal plants in grasslands.  With my colleagues from the Institute of Botany we study spatiotemporal change in mountain grasslands.  Please visit our webpage at www.ibot.cas.cz where there is a lot of information on the project. Detailed information permanent plots and recording techniques is here. As examples see our publications grass1, and grass2, and reviews grass3 and grass4.

Roots and rhizomes in grasslands. I never actively worked here, but I really enjoy watching people who do and talking with them. I also did some analysis of this kind of data. See the publication root1 or write either to me, to Sylvie Pecháčková (root spatial structure and architecture), to Radka Wildová (rhizome architecture) or Standa Březina (nutrient and root heterogeneity in the soil) if you are interested.

Analysis of permanent plot data. Since we (with František Krahulec, Věra Hadincová, Marcela Kovářová and many others) have been maintaining fine-scale permanent plots in grasslands, I did some analysis on these data. Over the course of time, we were able to collect data that clearly show how the clonal growth form contributes to spatiotemporal dynamics of communities. Please also visit our Krkonoše page or the permanent plots page if you are interested to see more.

Transient dynamics in clonal shrubs. Here I collaborate with Tomáš Kyncl, Radka Wildová and Jan Wild  (Spartocytisus supranubius in the alpine zone of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Pinus mugo in the subalpine zone of the Krkonoše Mts.).

Interannual variability in climate and plant coexistence. Theoretical models show that under certain conditions temporal variability of external conditions may enhance species coexistence.  We are collecting long-term data on species correlation with climate (see our publication) and  collect experimental data on climate*competition interactions.

Modelling of the spatiotemporal structure of clonal plants. For a number of reasons (including the need to link genetical data with the spatiotemporal dynamics as we obtained from the fine-scale permanent plots) I built a simulator of clonal growth of a community of clonal plants. We are currently parametrising it for our particular grassland system, and for some other systems as well. Here is our talk with Radka Wildová on modelling of spatiotemporal dynamics of clonal plants presented at the International Association of Vegetation Science in Freising in 2001.