DBG Visiting Researcher Guest Speaker

Event Description

Summary

Rising global temperatures are increasing the frequency of extreme heat and drought events, often producing widespread and abrupt leaf discoloration in forests. Such discoloration is commonly interpreted as premature or stress-induced senescence, yet during hot droughts it may instead reflect leaf scorching. Although visually similar, senescence and scorching arise from fundamentally different physiological processes, with contrasting implications for nutrient resorption, carbon cycling, and ecosystem functioning. By exposing two species with distinct response to extreme heat (> 50°C), we aim to uncover the key physiological processes leading to premature leaf senescence and leaf scorching under extreme thermal stress, shedding light to the thermal and hydraulic thresholds of the aforementioned processes.

About the Speaker

Maxwell Bergström is visiting from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland. He is collaborating with research staff and students in the DBG Dryland Plant Ecophysiology Lab, studying the effects of heat and drought on Fremont cottonwood and Gooding’s willow from a plant hydraulics and thermal limits perspective.

Modality

This presentation will be in person at Desert Botanical Garden’s Dorrance Hall or via Zoom