Work Packages

Work Package 2

Plant-plant-soil interactions and plant resistance to abiotic stresses in urban habitats

Leader: IETU, Dr. Marta Pogrzeba, prof. IETU

We will test the resistance of candidate plant species to the biotic interaction and abiotic stresses and their selected, most important and naturally possible combinations: (i) water deficiency and temperature, the most common stresses plants face with as a result of 'urban heat island' effects, (ii) NPK deficiency, and (iii) biotic interactions between plants belonging to different functional groups (i.e. grasses, legumes, rosette plants etc., i.e. we aim at finding the optimal plant performance x soil type x soil resource use combination). Most of them resulted from changes in the natural environment during urbanization process. However, their effects are strongly exaggerated by climate changes.