Imaging canopy temperature: shedding (thermal) light on ecosystem processes.

Canopy temperature T is a key driver of plant function that emerges as a result of interacting biotic and abiotic processes and properties. However, understanding controls on T and forecasting canopy responses to weather extremes and climate change are difficult due to sparse measurements of T at appropriate spatial and temporal scales. Burgeoning observations of T from thermal cameras enable evaluation of energy budget theory and better understanding of how environmental controls, leaf traits and canopy structure influence temperature patterns.

Adaptive evolution in a conifer hybrid zone is driven by a mosaic of recently introgressed and background genetic variants.

Extant conifer species may be susceptible to rapid environmental change owing to their long generation times, but could also be resilient due to high levels of standing genetic diversity. Hybridisation between closely related species can increase genetic diversity and generate novel allelic combinations capable of fuelling adaptive evolution. Our study unravelled the genetic architecture of adaptive evolution in a conifer hybrid zone formed between Pinus strobiformis and P.

Tree Rings Show Recent High Summer-Autumn Precipitation in Northwest Australia Is Unprecedented within the Last Two Centuries.

An understanding of past hydroclimatic variability is critical to resolving the significance of recent recorded trends in Australian precipitation and informing climate models. Our aim was to reconstruct past hydroclimatic variability in semi-arid northwest Australia to provide a longer context within which to examine a recent period of unusually high summer-autumn precipitation. We developed a 210-year ring-width chronology from Callitris columellaris, which was highly correlated with summer-autumn (Dec-May) precipitation (r = 0.

Three-dimensional xylem networks and phyllode properties of co-occurring Acacia.

Reduced leaf size is often correlated to increased aridity, where smaller leaves demand less water via xylem conduits. However, it is unknown if differences in three-dimensional (3D) xylem connectivity reflect leaf-level adaptations. We used X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) to quantify 3D xylem connectivity in ∼5 mm diameter branch sections of co-occurring semi-arid Acacia species of varied phyllode size.