Ecophysiological research on Mediterranean natural plants in a changing environment

The research interest of our group is the impact of climate changes on natural plant species of Mediterranean environments. Global changes potentially expose plants to novel environmental conditions that may be outside of their physiological limits and disrupt evolutionary patterns, while also influencing the interactions between plants and whole ecosystems. Understanding the physiological mechanisms of resistance to stress is fundamental to improve predictions of the effects of climate change, because they may be a key indicator of plant resiliency (or lack thereof) in future environments. Our attention is focused also on invasive plant species, whose competitive ability might be altered by climate changes. Mediterranean coasts are rich of biodiversity, but are intensively exploited for recreational and economic activities. This environment is particularly vulnerable to climate changes, thus urging us to investigate it in depth, in search of clues that may help to foresee and prevent damages to these ecosystems. Markers of plant stress may serve this purpose, therefore our ecophysiological investigations aim at applying basic research in the conservation of natural ecosystems and in the preservation of supply of goods and services for human activities. A few case studies are described to outline the research work of our group.