Global changes in harsh environments: effects on plant species and communities from a trait-analysis perspective

This research thesis is an original contribution to the field of ecology and it is submitted as final outcome of my PhD project. It focused on linking plant responses to global climate changes to harsh environment conditions, which determine remarkable species responses, from cell to community level, by means of physiological and morphological plant responses. The aim of this PhD work was to investigate the effects of global changes, analysing the effects of changing climatic factors, to plant ecosystems achieving precise information to understand and better explain global changes in harsh environments, searching for a link between plant metabolism and communities.