Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/N019075/1
Environmental Field Techniques for Scaling Ecophysiology from Leaf to Forest
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor H Griffiths, University of Cambridge, Plant Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Cambridge, Plant Sciences
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Crop science
- Environmental Physiology
- Plant physiology
- Environment/plant interaction
- Plant responses to environment
- Abiotic stress (plants)
- Plant responses to environment
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Abstract:
- Meeting the challenges of measuring the impact of climate change on plant communities and scaling environmental responses from leaf to forest canopy requires a new generation of researchers who are both technically adept with complicated equipment and cognizant with the demands for large scale data processing. The aim of the workshop is to provide training in plant ecophysiological techniques under field conditions, to develop a practical understanding of equipment, data analysis and experimental design. The demand for the workshop is framed by the need to introduce modern environmental methodologies both for dynamic assessments and long term monitoring of climate change impacts. The workshop will run for five days at the Quinta da S?o Pedro, Lisbon, Portugal in September 2016, a field centre renowned for plant environmental physiology studies. The successful format includes daily programme of lecture/seminars introducing the theory of techniques (mornings), with a demonstration of the equipment, followed by a hands-on session in the afternoon for participants to collect data. Evening sessions allow group discussions of techniques and data analysis, as well as a formal research poster session. The programme will provide an unrivalled opportunity for students supported by NERC, or about to embark upon a NERC DTP award, and we are repeating the workshop in a 2-year cycle (last supported by NERC in 2013-14: Grant code NE/M006395/1) to capture successive student cohorts. The topics covered in the course are also in line with NERCs recent report "Postgraduate and Professional Skills Needs in the Environment Sector". The proposed workshop will deliver training in key areas of environmental physiology which allow the integration and evaluation of basic plant physiological processes under natural conditions. The emphasis will be to develop interactions between PIs and a range of international authorities to deliver background theory and good practice augmented by practical training in a variety of techniques, delivered in part by industrial manufacturers providing hands-on experience in using associated equipment. The goal is firstly to demonstrate how the theory defining leaf-level processes (such as photosynthetic gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, water status and hydraulic conductance) can be integrated via modern analytical equipment. Secondly, provide training in approaches which integrate and allow scaling to canopy processes (such as stable isotopes, monitoring canopy development/Leaf Area Index, IR thermography and soil water/nutrient status). Finally, to introduce the theory and practice of long-term monitoring under field conditions, including micrometerology, eddy covariance, and remote sensing methodologies. The proposal seeks funding to support a week-long workshop near Lisbon, Portugal in September 2016, providing tuition, theoretical background and practical training in cutting-edge environmental, physiological and micrometerological methods. Support is sought to cover registration costs and subsistence/travel for up to 25 NERC supported research students and early stage researchers, who will be recruited prior to attending the workshop. The support will also be used for registration, subsistence and travel for international speakers, as well as the Co-investigators, all of whom will present specific topics at the workshop. Additional funds for an additional 35 participants will be raised from Industrial Sponsors, the British Ecological Society and Society for Experimental Biology learned societies and scientific journals through the publication of workshop proceedings to support additional expert speakers and postgraduate students, so that the workshop will comprise 80 participants from around the globe.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/N019075/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Training
This training grant award has a total value of £34,150
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs |
|---|
| £34,150 |
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