| Career Summary |
1978.08: graduated faculty of Biology, Tbilisi State University
1983.05: Candidate of Biological Sciences, Georgian Academy of Sciences
1993.09: Doctor of Biological Sciences, Georgian Academy of Sciences
1998.10: Research Associate, Chiba University
2003.10: Ramon-y-Cajal Fellow, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Spain
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| Educational Activities |
For graduate students: Biosphere functions
For graduate students: Environmental sustainability (in English) |
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| Research Activities |
Measuring biological diversity, plant-plant interactions and local-sclae spatial patterns
Mechanisms creating and supporting plant diversity at different spatial scales
Richness_of_alpine_comminities_worldwide
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Literature
1) Kikvidze, Z. and Ohsawa, M. 2002. Measuring the number of co-dominants in ecological communities. Ecological Research 17: 519-525.
2) Kikvidze, Z. 2002. Facilitation and competition in alpine plant communities. Global Environmental Research 6: 53-58.
3) Kikvidze, Z., Pugnaire, F.I., Choler, P., Lortie, C.J., Michalet, R. and Callaway, R.M. 2005. Linking patterns and processes in alpine plant communities: a global study. Ecology 86: 1395-1400.
4) Kikvidze, Z., Khetsuriani, L. and Kikodze, D. 2005. Small-scale guild proportions and niche complementarity in subalpine hay meadows, the central Caucasus. Journal of Vegetation Science 16: 565-570.
5) Kikvidze, Z., Armas, C. and Pugnaire, F.I. 2006. The effect of initial biomass in manipulative experiments on plants. Functional Ecology 20: 1-3.
6) Kikvidze, Z., Khetsuriani, L., Kikodze, D., and Callaway, R.M. 2006. Seasonal shifts in competition and facilitation in subalpine plant communities of the central Caucasus. Journal of Vegetation Science 17: 77-82. |
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| Other Activities |
Memeber of the project "Sustainable development for the villages Abla and Abrucena near the Sierra-Nevada National Park", Andalusia, Spain.
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| Future Plan |
Different adaptive mechanisms that enables plants to survive in severe environmental conditions, particularly, how plants survive very unfavorable water regime on volcanic ash sloils with extremely little water retention capacity?
Spatial arrangement and interactions among trees in conifer-broadlive forest ecotones, and creation of the "additional biomass" effect.
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| Messages to Students |
Biological diversity is one of the major attributes of our natural environment.
Research on the mechanisms that create and support biodiversity has a high importance for understanding better biosphere functions.
Practically it can serve to various important purposes.
First, measuring biological diversity is necessary for the assessment of the quality of natural environment.
Second, monitoring of biological diversity is necessary to assess the human impacts or natural changes: is diversity declining or is it stable?
Finally, designing measures for conservation and restoration of natural environment, and monitoring whether these measures are effective. |
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