The PLECO CoE was funded by Methusalem, a funding channel managed by the Flemisch Government which provides resources for renowned international researchers. The channel allows researchers to focus on the groundbreaking research they are carrying out without having to look for financial resources themselves.
The University of Antwerp strengthens the recognition received by Methusalem researchers by classifying the research units they lead as research excellence centres and by providing extra support.
Researchers:prof. Reinhart Ceulemans (UAntwerp) and prof. Jaco Vangronsveld (UHasselt)Title: "Environment and plant ecology at various scales."
More about the Methusalem funding on the UA-website.
The overarching theme of the PLECO Centre of Excellence was the study of the effects of global changes, in the broadest meaning of the term, on plants and vegetation. This long-term goal was realized by studying the responses of plants and vegetation to the, sometimes manipulated, abiotic environment over a continuum of hierarchical scales, ranging from the individual leaf to the continent. Original experimental research and long-term observations were strengthened by coupling: (i) to existing or newly developed simulation models, and (ii) to the intensive use and statistical meta-analysis of new and existing databases.
The objectives of the research were a better understanding of the functioning, the dynamics, and the structure of plants—at the leaf, plant, community, and ecosystem levels up to the continental scale—in present and future environments. Specific studies included renewable bio-energy, biosphere-atmosphere interactions, ozone and volatile organic compounds, soil and earth system models, as well as interactions of climatic change and biodiversity.