profile_subnav_projects - dr.ir. FJ (Frank) Sterck
-
Understanding growth patterns of trees from underlying eco-physiological and evolutionary principles.
Current projects include studies on understanding plastic growth responses of trees to contrasting soil conditions, by integrating underlying trait responses in roots, stem and leaves for canopy trees (PhD Weemstra), and comparative studies where we upscale the functioning of anatomical properties in xylem, phloem and leaves to the architecture, functioning and growth for trees across Dutch forests (with MSc students) and European forests (European research networks) . In addition, I explore diel and seasonal patterns in carbon and water relationships within trees and consequences for overall tree growth (European research networks)
-
Understanding the consequences of the growth patterns for niche differentiation and species distributions along environmental gradients.
Current projects focus on the impacts of responses in functional traits and architecture for distributions of woody plant species along gradients in climate, for example for tree species across Europe (with European networks), woody plant species from boreal, temperate to tropical forest biomes (PhD Zhang), for liana and tree species in forests of Panama (PhD Medina), Brazil (Post-Doc ) and tropical China (Chinese research networks), and for trees across the Mediterranean (European research networks).
-
Understanding the consequences of growth patterns for the management of trees or forests.
Current projects include multiple studies on environmental and physiological impacts on frankincense production by a woodland tree species in Ethiopia (with Frans Bongers, and a whole team of Ethiopian PhD students), and on mono and mixed forest species impacts on forest productivity in the Netherlands (PhD Lu Huicui).
-
Floods and sand storms – Precision of dendrogeomorphic markers in trees
Scenarios of climate change predict more intense precipitation events and increased periods of summer drought for the Netherlands. This will affect... -
Futures of ABC Woodlands and their gum/resin productions in Ethiopia: Analysis using Scenarios
This project (FRAME 5-middle of Fig. 1) aims to integrate the information generated from the four other FRAME projects (eco-physiology, ecology,... -
FRAnkincense, Myrrh and gum arabic: sustainable use of dry woodland resources in Ethiopia (FRAME)
More than half of the total land area in Ethiopia is arid to semiarid with marginal or no agricultural potential. Overexploitation of natural... -
Time series of wood characters - a new proxy to determine changing environments through the Holocene and to evaluate the impact of future climate change
What is the natural variation in climatic factors throughout the Holocene? How will future climate change affect trees and forests in Europe? These... -
Modelling trees and forests
Recently, we started with a new major effort to develop mechanistic tree and forest models.