Research topic:
Simulating impacts of enironmental stresses on plants and its adaptation and mitigation measures

Introduction

Environmental stresses on plants

Plants are affected by soil conditions, weather conditions, and air pollutants, which sometimes have a negative impact on the growth of crops and trees.
Environmental stresses on plants

What is the problem of environmental stresses?

Degradation of the quality and yield of crops exacerbates our quality of life and farmers' income. In addition, inhibition of CO2 absorption by trees is not good for global warming.

Research question

1. What effects, and how much, do environmental stresses influence on plants?（Risk assessment）
2. What measures can we take to protect plant and human quality of life?（Planning measures）

Research approach

1. Experimental study

We experimentally subject plants to environmental stresses (e.g., high temperature, drought, ozone exposure, etc.) to investigate the effects of environmental stresses on photosynthesis and growth, as well as their physiological mechanisms.

2. Developing impact assessment model

We develop a model on the relationship between environmental factors and plant photosynthesis and growth.
※ Model: Mathematical formulation of physiological responses of plants

3. Simulationg impacts and its measures

We simulates the impacts of environmental stress on crops in the fields and on trees in forests, as well as the effects of countermeasures.

Approach

Example of study

Ozone

O3 in the stratosphere is famous that blocks ultraviolet rays, but it is also present near the land surface. Tropospheric O3, which is produced from NOx emitted from the fossil fuels, has a negative effects on human health and plants due to its high oxidative stresses.
O3-induced visible injury
Example of paper
・Development of a model to estimate stomatal O3 uptake (Kinose et al., 2014).
・Effects of O3 on photosynthesis of upper and lower canopy leaves and growth of plants grown under different soil nutrient levels (Kinose et al., 2017a and b).
・Development a model assessing effects of O3 on plant growth (Kinose et al., 2020a).
・Simulation of effects of O3 and its measures on CO2 uptake by forest trees (Kinose et al., 2020b).

Air temperature

Rising atmosperic CO2 concentration due to fossil fuels consumption is one of the major greenhouse gases contributing to global warming. The heat island phenomenon associated with urbanization is another cause of rising air temperatures. In the regions where air temperatures are low at present, rising air temperatures can improve plant growth, but in general, it has a negative impact on plant growth where the air temperatures are already high.
Heat-induced chalky rice grains
Example of paper
・Simulation of effects of climate change on rice yield in Indonesia (Kinose and Masutomi, 2019; Kinose et al., 2020).
・Simulation of effects of elevated air temperature and its measures on chalky rice grains in Japan (Kinose and Seita, 2022).

Finally ...

I am really impressed when I found a law of biological response, understood biological phenomena with mathematical formulas, or simulated plant growth in the future, It is also very rewarding research that can lead to policies.

Until now, I have been investigated on "the effects of environment on plant". However, recently, I have been interested in "the effects of plant to environment". Furthermore, I have started to develop analytical equipments for photosynthesis and crop quality.

I am looking for students who are willing to work on research with me so that we can be of service to the world!