Public Lecture: “Restoration of Evergreen Forests – Trait-Based Assessment and Field Monitoring for Climate-Resilient Restoration”

Sharat Paligi, funded under the “Short-Term Scientific Missions” programme of the Competence Centre Landscape Resilience, reports on his research stay in India as well as evidence-based restoration approaches for evergreen forests in the northern Western Ghats of India.

The northern Western Ghats in India are among the most biodiverse regions on Earth and were historically characterised by tropical evergreen forests. However, decades of intensive human use – including logging, plantation forestry, and recurring fires – have led to a large-scale shift towards deciduous vegetation. This development has been accompanied by significant biodiversity loss, altered ecosystem functions, and reduced hydrological stability. Against the backdrop of ongoing climate change, marked by rising temperatures, prolonged dry periods, and increasingly variable moisture conditions, there is an urgent need for climate-adapted restoration strategies based on a well-founded, trait-based selection of native tree species that enable the re-establishment of evergreen forest structures.

To support evidence-based restoration approaches, researchers from the University of Göttingen, funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, have established a replicated seedling pot experiment in close collaboration with partners from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and the Nature Conservation Foundation. The study investigates 16 tree species across a growth spectrum ranging from slow to fast-growing species, with a focus on functional traits associated with drought and heat tolerance. Measurements include diurnal patterns of water use (stomatal conductance), embolism resistance, dehydration tolerance, and thermal tolerance. These measurements provide mechanistic insights into species performance under climatic stress.

Interested participants are warmly invited to learn more about the project, the German-Indian research cooperation, practical field experiences in India, and planned activities to promote restoration in the Western Ghats during the lecture. The lecture will be held in English; prior registration is not required.

Date & Time: 12 February 2026, 08:15 a.m.
Location: Untere Karspüle 2, MN35