Publications

Micro-scale interactions between Arabidopsis root hairs and soil particles influence soil erosion

Publication ID: pub.1126106026

Publication date: 03/04/2020

Keywords: Adhesiveness; Arabidopsis; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genotype; Mutation; Phenotype; Plant Roots; Plants, Genetically Modified; Seasons; Soil; Soil Erosion; Time Factors

Soil is essential for sustaining life on land. Plant roots play a crucial role in stabilising soil and minimising erosion, although these mechanisms are still not completely understood. Consequently, identifying and breeding for plant traits to enhance erosion resistance is challenging. Root hair mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana were studied using three different quantitative methods to […]

Net emission reductions from electric cars and heat pumps in 59 world regions over time

Publication ID: pub.1125821396

Publication date: 23/03/2020

Keywords: Decarbonization; Electric Cars; Electricity Generation; Fossil Fuel; Global; Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Targets; Heat Pumps; Household Heating; Life-cycle Assessments; Planned Policy Frameworks; Road Transport

The electrification of passenger road transport and household heating features prominently in current and planned policy frameworks to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. However, since electricity generation involves using fossil fuels, it is not established where and when the replacement of fossil-fuel-based technologies by electric cars and heat pumps can effectively reduce overall emissions. […]

Asynchronous carbon sink saturation in African and Amazonian tropical forests

Publication ID: pub.1125339474

Publication date: 04/03/2020

Keywords: Africa; Amazonia; Atmosphere; Biomass; Brazil; Carbon Dioxide; Carbon Sequestration; Droughts; Forests; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Models, Theoretical; South America; Temperature; Trees; Tropical Climate

Structurally intact tropical forests sequestered about half of the global terrestrial carbon uptake over the 1990s and early 2000s, removing about 15 per cent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions1–3. Climate-driven vegetation models typically predict that this tropical forest ‘carbon sink’ will continue for decades4,5. Here we assess trends in the carbon sink using 244 structurally […]

Insignificant effect of Arctic amplification on the amplitude of midlatitude atmospheric waves

Publication ID: pub.1125021000

Publication date: 19/02/2020

Keywords: Arctic Amplification; Arctic Region; Arctic Warming; Forced Response; Interannual to Decadal Timescales; Midlatitude; Models; Temperature Gradient; Trends; Wavier Circulation; Waviness

Whether Arctic amplification has contributed to a wavier circulation and more frequent extreme weather in midlatitudes remains an open question. For two to three decades starting from the mid-1980s, accelerated Arctic warming and a reduced meridional near-surface temperature gradient coincided with a wavier circulation. However, waviness remains largely unchanged in model simulations featuring strong Arctic […]

Migration and Household Adaptation in Climate-Sensitive Hotspots in South Asia

Publication ID: pub.1124952467

Publication date: 19/02/2020

Keywords: Adaptation; Climate Change; Migration; South Asia

Purpose of ReviewSouth Asia is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, owing to the high dependency on climate-sensitive livelihoods and recurrent extreme events. Consequently, an increasing number of households are adopting labour migration as a livelihood strategy to diversify incomes, spread risks, and meet aspirations. Under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa […]

Stomatal optimization based on xylem hydraulics (SOX) improves land surface model simulation of vegetation responses to climate

Publication ID: pub.1123957006

Publication date: 17/02/2020

Keywords: Climate; Droughts; Ecosystem; Forests; Global; Plant Leaves; Water; Xylem

Land surface models (LSMs) typically use empirical functions to represent vegetation responses to soil drought. These functions largely neglect recent advances in plant ecophysiology that link xylem hydraulic functioning with stomatal responses to climate. We developed an analytical stomatal optimization model based on xylem hydraulics (SOX) to predict plant responses to drought. Coupling SOX to […]