AUSTRALIA—GERMANY WORKSHOP ON BIODIVERSITY
The Shine Dome, 13-17 March 2006
Ecophysiological imaging of plant responses to temperature stress
by Prof Marilyn Ball, Research School of Biological Sciences, Australian National University
There is an urgent need to understand how tree seedling establishment in forests is affected by microclimate and other environmental stresses. Recently, we have found that small-scale variation in temperature can account for major differences in the growth of eucalypt seedlings under field conditions. We are using thermal imaging to measure plant responses to temperature stress at sample sizes significant to understanding population-level responses to environmental heterogeneity. In particular, we are working to combine high-resolution fluorescence, infra-red thermal imaging and hyperspectral imaging of changes in reflectance of visible light for field studies of photosynthetic processes integrated with studies of growth and survival.
