Abstract

from the James Cook University in Australia and currently a Brenda Ryman Visiting Research Fellow at Girton College

At all scales plant and atmospheric processes are interdependent. At the heart of this vegetation-atmosphere feedback loop is the most significant bioregulator on the planet: the stoma. These tiny valves in the leaf epidermis directly sense and integrate a variety of environmental and internal signals to regulate plant gas exchange in a way that tends towards optimal CO2 uptake with respect to water loss. Intriguingly, different plant taxa and community assemblages perform this function differently, according to different ecological strategies and inherent physiological constraints. I will discuss the physiology and macroevolution of elements of the stomatal control system across multiple scales, drawing on examples from my studies with a diversity of species and landscapes, and including recent findings from several collaborations here at Cambridge.