Professor Matthew Turnbull - Research
Research Interests
Environmental plant physiology. Ecophysiology of resource acquisition in natural and managed ecosystems. Responses of plants to extremes of environment. Stable isotopes in plant physiology and ecology.
Physiological ecology of forest trees
Physiology of plant responses to global climate change (elevated atmospheric CO2 and temperature)
Strategies of nitrogen acquisition and assimilation in native plant species
Graduate Research Opportunities
Graduates interested in the physiology of whole plants and the ways physiology influences the activities in real-world situations may want to consider postgraduate research in environmental physiology. My broad areas of interest are in the study of how plants acquire and utilise resources and the ways they respond to environmental stresses. Issues of this nature apply to plants not only in natural field situations but also to plants in situations which have been contrived by humans in order to produce some benefit.
BIOL 453 Plant Physiology
Current issues and approaches in plant environment physiology; resource acquisition in natural and managed ecosystems; techniques for determining plant carbon and water status; stable isotopes as a tool in physiological and ecological research; stress physiology; plant physiology in variable environments - coordinating responses; plant physiological ecology - physiological attributes as predictors.
Possible Research Projects
This list reflects my interests and experiences. Both the natural and managed world in NZ offer almost boundless opportunities for research into plant physiological ecology - you should feel free to inject some of your own ideas/interests into possible projects. The following list is not exhaustive and the projects are not listed in any order of importance/preference.
· Photoinhibition in NZ plants - does it offer us an explanation for patterns of growth and development in divaricate plants?
Collaborators - Dr Matt McGlone (Landcare - Lincoln), Dave Kelly/Ashley Sparrow (Biological Sciences)
· Implications (energy exchange, photosynthesis) of the spectral properties of juvenile leaves of Nothofagus spp. (or other native species with "unusually" coloured juvenile foliage)? How do absorptive properties of leaves change according to season, juvenile vs mature leaves, outer vs inner canopy?
Collaborator - Dr Matt McGlone (Landcare - Lincoln)
· Ecophysiology of native NZ alpine plants. What aspects of the physiology of scree plants (spectral properties, water relations, photobiology) enables them to survive in their habitats?
Collaborator - Dr Jo Ward (Biological Sciences)
· The environmental physiology of tussock grass flowering. What environmental - physiological - hormonal cues trigger mast flowering in Chionochloa spp?
Collaborators - Dr Richard Pharis (U Calgary) - Dr David Kelly (Biological Sciences)
· Ecophysiology of regeneration of mixed Podocarp/broadleaf forests (Westland). What are the physiological responses of important component species to changes in environment occurring as a result of gap formation?
Collaborator - Dr David Norton (Forestry)
· Water relations of Nothofagus spp across the rainfall gradient from West Coast to Canterbury. How do strategies of water use (gas exchange, components of water potential) vary over such a steep rainfall gradient?
Collaborator - Dr Dave Kelly (Biological Sciences)
· Physiology of plant responses during restoration of degraded lands
Collaborators - Dr David Norton (Forestry), Dr Matt McGlone (Landcare Research)
· Ecophysiology of native mistletoes. What are the relative water relations of mistletoes and their hosts?
Collaborators - Dr David Norton (Forestry) - Dr Dave Kelly (Biological Sciences)
· Nitrogen relations of native NZ plant species. What is the nature of the N resource available to plants in major plant community types and how can we use physiological techniques (enzymology, stable isotope analysis, N analysis) to probe plant strategies for acquisition of this resource?
Collaborator - Prof George Stewart (U Queensland)
· Physiological responses of native shrubs (matagouri, manuka, Cassinia) to increased soil phosphate levels. Can they tell us anything about the potential for shrub invasion of tussock grassland sites?
Collaborator - Dr Ashley Sparrow (Biological Sciences)
· Biochemistry of responses of native NZ species to environment stresses. To what extent do plants induce production of antioxidant compounds and enzymes (the "antioxidant system") in response to low temperature / high light or water stress / high light?
Collaborator - Dr Steven Geiseg (Biological Sciences)
· Tree physiology of native NZ forests
Collaborator - Dr David Whitehead (Landcare Research)
Responses of plants / ecosystems to global climate change, especially elevated temperatures.
Collaborator - Dr Kevin riffin (Columbia University, New York)