Climate-smart forests and agriculture: patterns and diversity of tree and crop responses to elevated growth temperatures

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Climate warming is a pressing threat to food security and the ability of our forests to provide the economic and ecological benefits our society relies on. But it is unclear why some plant species maintain their ability to uptake carbon and grow efficiently at elevated growth temperatures, while other species are negatively impacted by warming. This research program will assess how warm growing conditions impact traits that affect carbon fluxes (photosynthesis and respiration) and growth in economically important tree and crop species, as well as in a model species. By using species that differ in their ability to maintain photosynthesis and respiration under warm growth temperatures, this work will help identify the anatomical, biochemical and physiological traits that correlate with performance in future, warmer climates, thus providing targets for creating climate-smart crop varieties and tree lines that can better tolerate future climates. Additionally, because predictions of crop yield and forest growth in future climates depend on our ability to model the physiological processes underlying plant productivity, this work will provide critical information for modelers about how warm-grown plants differ from those grown under current temperatures, thus improving these models. Lastly, this research program will evaluate whether leaf traits, such as nitrogen concentration or density/thickness, correlate with the ability to maintain performance in warmer growth conditions. If so, then this information can be incorporated into large-scale models to help predict how a wide range of plants will cope with climate warming. Since leaf carbon fluxes play an important role in determining atmospheric CO2 concentrations, understanding how warming impacts photosynthesis and respiration is critical not only for determining future food, wood and fibre supplies, but also for predicting how rapidly our climate will change. The proposed work will provide critical training in analytical and communication skills for ten students, along with an international approach to solving these complex environmental problems, thus preparing them for careers in industry, policy and academia.