mgr Beata Ciak-Wojdyła

ORCID: 0000-0002-7192-8450

The topic of my dissertation is: „Forest plant responses to increase in air temperature on the example of the yellow archangel (Galeobdolon luteum)”

Currently, the issue of the functioning of forest herbaceous plants in changing environmental conditions is poorly understood. Current knowledge on this topic is based mainly on typical plant model organisms such as Arabidopsis thaliana or data on woody plants, which are characterized by a different biology and ecology compared to herbaceous forest plants. Forests constitute over 30% of the Earth's surface, therefore, from the point of view of constantly changing environmental conditions, it is important to learn about changes in the life strategy and biochemical profile of forest herbaceous plants. This is important because these plants play an important role in the functioning of the forest ecosystem.

The research will be carried out on the yellow archangel (Galeobdolon luteum), widely distributed in European forests. The yellow archangel is an evergreen chamaephyte with two methods of reproduction: generative and vegetative. It blooms from May to June, and in the remaining months it develops thanks to the vegetative parts [1, 2].

The information available so far on the reaction of the yellow archangel concerns the observation of its reaction at the morphological level to the influence of environmental factors (e.g., temperature, shading or soil type). Changes in its morphological features were also observed during the growing season [3]. However, there is a lack of information about the yellow archangel response to climate changes, such as: increase temperature, increase light levels at the functional and biochemical level. Understanding and describing these issues will help determine potential directions of changes in the species composition of forest floor plants and their impact on the functioning of the ecosystem.

Publication:

  1. Packham, J. R., and A. J. Willis. “The Influence of Shading and of Soil Type on the Growth of Galeobdolon Luteum.” Journal of Ecology, vol. 70, no. 2, 1982, pp. 491–512. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2259918.
  2. Packham, J. R. “Lamiastrum Galeobdolon (L.) & Polatschek (Galeobdolon Luteum Hudson; Lamium Galeobdolon (L.) Nath.).” Journal of Ecology, vol. 71, no. 3, 1983, pp. 975–97. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/2259606.
  3. Dong, M. “Morphological responses to local light conditions in clonal herbs from contrasting habitats, and their modification due to physiological integration.” Oecologia, vol. 101, no. 3, 1995, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1993.tb03819.x.