In this research I'm investigating how the photosynthesis and transpiration of plants changes depending on the CO2 level under which plants have grown up. I think this question is very important to answer because plants play and important role in hydrological cycle and the carbon cycle. Plants influence these cycles at a global scale because they assimilate carbon by photosynthesis and simultaneously transpire water through microscopically small stomatal pores in their leaves (see the image below). This role becomes even more intriguing when you consider that the current rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations has a direct effect on the transpiration and photosynthesis of plants. The extent to which plants influence global fluxes of water and carbon are recognized as key uncertainties in climate change predictions.
Plant adaptation to rising atmospheric CO2 In this research I'm investigating how the photosynthesis and transpiration of plants changes depending on the CO2 level under which plants have grown up. I think this question is very important to answer because plants play and important role in hydrological cycle and the carbon cycle. Plants influence these cycles at a global scale because they assimilate carbon by photosynthesis and simultaneously transpire water through microscopically small stomatal pores in their leaves (see the image below). This role becomes even more intriguing when you consider that the current rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations has a direct effect on the transpiration and photosynthesis of plants. The extent to which plants influence global fluxes of water and carbon are recognized as key uncertainties in climate change predictions. Leaf gas exchange occurs though stomata. Guard cells open and close the stomata (shown in the middle microscope image) to regulate photosynthesis and transpiration at short timescales. Plants also adjust the number and size of their stomata through developmental responses to rising CO2 at (multi)decadal timescales. This study focusses on how these responses combined influence photosynthesis and transpiration.
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There are those rare moments that you find something as a scientist, that baffles both yourself and your colleagues. That was the case with the finding of Stefano Mazzoleni and colleagues. Many reviewers had trouble believing the results, so they were asked to run the tests again. After this rigorous process, their findings have finally been published resulting in three different articles. They will present their new theory for the very first time to the scientific community. You're welcome on Thursday February 26 to listen to their presentation. So what is it that they found?...
Some deserts are vast areas of sand. Other deserts have a little bit of vegetation, that dots the bare soil. If you look from above, you can see it forms intricate patterns, ranging from spots to stripes. It reminded scientists of a tiger, so it was called tiger bush. The patterns were clearly visible, but an explanation had to be found...
Professor Ehud Meron will give a lecture on this topic on February 25. Entrance is free! Blog entry by Koen Siteur - PhD candidate With Google Ngram Viewer it is possible to make a time plot of the relative frequency of a phrase in all books archived by Google. It reveals some interesting trends in the popularity of some of the research topics in our department. Blog entry by Koen Siteur - PhD student Ineke, Ana, Shuqiong, Mart, Maria, Mara, Max, Maarten, Martin and I went to the NAEM (Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting) this week. This two day meeting in conference center "De Werelt" in Lunteren is a great opportunity to meet fellow ecologists and learn something about other fields in ecology. Blog entry by Shuqiong Wang - PhD canditate On January 31, we went to the national park in Haarlem to collect sand for the greenhouse experiment. We prefer sand in nature because it has more nutrient and microorganism, which is good for plants to grow and flower, compared with pure sand bought from factory. For this trip, we, especially Jerry, have prepared for a long time, contacting with people in the national park to get the permission, choosing a suitable way to deliver sand, buying many things, such as gloves, shovels, and of course, hoping for a good weather. |
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Environmental Sciences BlogWritten by the junior researchers, PhD-students and post-docs of the Environmental Sciences group. |