Water and carbon dynamics are intimately connected in bryophytes. From Hanson and Rice 2014. Photosynthesis in Bryophytes and Early Land Plants.
Bryophytes (i.e., mosses and their relatives) not only represent one of the world’s most diverse plant groups, but they also dominate many plant communities, particularly in cold or wet climates where they can control ecosystem processes like matter and energy flow.
In my research I employ an integrative approach to understand the ecological and evolutionary significance of variation in plant form within bryophytes. My studies focus on understanding structure-function relationships with particular emphasis on how variation in structure influences water balance, carbon balance and plant productivity. To accomplish this, I employ comparative methods to investigate the evolutionary origin and functional consequences of morphological and physiological variation in peat mosses, the world’s most abundant bryophyte group, as well as in other moss groups. I also utilize and develop novel methodologies to quantify bryophyte canopy structure and function including 3D scanning and 3D thermal imaging as well as physiological approaches to better understand short- and long-term water and carbon dynamics using 13C.
