Surprisingly little is known regarding what happens to plants as they grow older. Do they deteriorate physiologically with advancing age, as for example all birds and mammals seem to do? Or can some plants get stronger with age? In the SEAD-Plant project we investigate how reproduction and risk of death changes in plants as they grow older. To determine ages of wild plants we use the neglected technique of ‘herb chronology’ where growth rings in roots are investigated. Finding out whether plant-individuals “senesce” is important for understanding the evolutionary background of senescence in humans and many other species. Such understanding is also important in order to better understand what drives population dynamics, which in turn will allow us to make better forecasts of effects of environmental change such as climate change and other global environmental changes, on plant population sizes and distributions.
Provider: FNU – Sapere Aude
Total amount of grant:7.036.704,00
Period: 1/11 16 – 31/10 20