Deciphering the behavior of a DOORKEEPER to our food
Meetpal S. Kukal
Author
10/27/2020
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29
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I will briefly talk about an overview of my research theme surrounding functioning and response of stomata to environmental variations. Stomata are like valves on a leaf that control the exchange of atmospheric carbon dioxide and water loss. I will focus on our understanding of the drivers of stomatal behavior and their role in various crop species, which are critical for us to strengthen our food systems in the light of environmental change. Modeling these behaviors using mathematical functions allow us to build capacity to predict threats/opportunities to agricultural productivity across the United States agroecosystems. Use of irrigation to mitigate threats of climate change on crop productivity is proposed.
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- [00:00:01.200]Did you know that there exists
- [00:00:03.810]a doorkeeper to our food systems,
- [00:00:06.410]and that is responsible for dictating what goes in
- [00:00:09.650]and what goes out of that system?
- [00:00:12.650]And all this doorkeeper for cares for,
- [00:00:15.130]is developing of our food.
- [00:00:17.320]It makes critical decisions on our food supply,
- [00:00:20.060]and the water that is required to do so.
- [00:00:22.520]And not just one,
- [00:00:23.800]there can be seven million of these doorkeepers
- [00:00:26.700]on a single corn leaf that do their job
- [00:00:29.640]round the clock, 24/7.
- [00:00:32.640]Now let me reveal this mystery.
- [00:00:35.120]The doorkeepers I referred to here are the stomata.
- [00:00:38.920]And through their functioning,
- [00:00:40.530]they let in carbon dioxide to form sugars,
- [00:00:43.540]via the photosynthesis process,
- [00:00:46.140]and let out water vapor and oxygen.
- [00:00:50.730]Now the food production is determined
- [00:00:52.760]by how strict these doorkeepers of the stomata are,
- [00:00:56.970]to the exchange of gases that take place through them.
- [00:00:59.810]Fortunately, this strictness is measurable.
- [00:01:04.060]I extensively measured the resistance
- [00:01:06.160]offered by the stomata in four irrigated crops of the state,
- [00:01:09.820]in addition to other important processes,
- [00:01:12.130]such as how light interacts with the plants,
- [00:01:14.950]and how much water travels from the roots to the leaves.
- [00:01:18.180]In a similar fashion,
- [00:01:19.840]as of now right as we speak,
- [00:01:22.230]we are also constantly measuring stomata resistance
- [00:01:25.070]across 10 sites in the state,
- [00:01:27.870]every 30 minutes, all year long.
- [00:01:32.207]By this measurements,
- [00:01:33.640]we find that the doorkeepers of the stomata,
- [00:01:36.680]they love light.
- [00:01:37.880]But stomata from different plants behave differently.
- [00:01:41.920]As more light is available in the canopy,
- [00:01:45.050]the resistance offered by the stomata is low,
- [00:01:48.280]and the food factory is fully operational.
- [00:01:51.540]As light levels decrease,
- [00:01:53.500]these operations start to shut down abruptly.
- [00:01:57.060]These cutoff points in available light,
- [00:01:59.490]are different for each crop, which we have quantified,
- [00:02:02.970]so we can model these behaviors.
- [00:02:06.920]We also find that the stomata have a tricky relationship
- [00:02:10.750]with atmospheric dryness,
- [00:02:12.740]the excess of which is what we usually refer
- [00:02:15.550]to as a drought.
- [00:02:17.500]As dryness in the atmosphere rises at first,
- [00:02:20.710]stomata are very happy allowing for high gas exchange,
- [00:02:25.680]but they shut down after a threshold is reached,
- [00:02:29.330]and start to limit the gas exchange.
- [00:02:32.150]Like light levels,
- [00:02:33.590]this saturation dryness level is again species-specific,
- [00:02:37.380]and can be modeled.
- [00:02:40.740]Now understanding these behaviors
- [00:02:42.660]of the stomata to light and dryness,
- [00:02:45.290]we are able to develop models
- [00:02:47.280]to predict how our food systems across the US,
- [00:02:50.760]react to these climate conditions.
- [00:02:52.930]Doing this is really and particularly important
- [00:02:56.460]in the light of rise of carbon dioxide levels
- [00:02:59.270]at the atmosphere which we are seeing,
- [00:03:01.900]and also the warming that has resulted from it.
- [00:03:05.350]These exercises help us identify critical regions
- [00:03:08.840]in our country, that are vulnerable to climate change,
- [00:03:12.670]so we are able to tackle these challenges
- [00:03:15.050]by providing our farmers
- [00:03:16.610]with better irrigation tools and methods.
- [00:03:20.310]With irrigation strategies that allow for our farmers
- [00:03:23.790]to keep stomata happy,
- [00:03:25.680]and also keep their economic profits high,
- [00:03:28.820]we shall be able to attain water and food sustainability
- [00:03:32.510]within the State of Nebraska and beyond.
- [00:03:36.580]So the next time you see plants,
- [00:03:38.900]I hope you think about the stomata
- [00:03:40.960]and the wonderful job they do to provide us our meals,
- [00:03:44.440]and how do we need to understand them
- [00:03:46.450]in order to sustain our food production
- [00:03:48.440]for the future, thank you.
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