REU: Collaborative Research: Photosynthesis and Stomatal Conductance During Periods of Variable Sunlight

这项拟议中的研究将检查基本的生理 控制植物生长的过程和当地使用的水 植物在光照变化的条件下生长。 大多数先前 研究是在持续的阳光下进行的， 农业植物更容易受到 在阳光下，由于云或其他植物相互遮蔽。 了解植物如何对波动水平的 阳光对它们的生长和用水至关重要， 我们对本地植物和作物生产力的理解。 这些研究将建立在已经出现的反应模式的基础上 记录并提供对它们的机械解释。 非稳态植物对湿度、水分减少的反应 可用性和温度将完成。 这样的 机械的理解将有助于基础生态学家， 以及在农作物中的应用。 使用三种不同 研究地点的生态系统（亚高山、沙漠、高草草原） 将扩大结果的适用性。

The proposed research will examine basic physiological processes controlling plant growth and water used in native plants under conditions of fluctuating sunlight. Most previous studies have been done under constant sunlight but both native and agricultural plants are more commonly exposed to variations in sunlight due to clouds or other plants shading each other. Basic knowledge of how plants respond to fluctuating levels of sunlight in terms of their growth and water use is crucial for our understanding of native plant and crop productivity. The studies will build upon patterns of responses already documented and provide a mechanistic interpretation of them. No-steady state plant responses to humidity, reduced water availability, and temperature will be completed. Such a mechanistic understanding will be useful to basic ecologists as well as use in crops plants. The use of three different ecosystems for study sites (subalpine, desert, tallgrass prairie) will broaden the applicability of the results.