Welcome to the Plants & H2O lab
The physical location of the "Plants & H2O” Lab at Cal State Fullerton is now closed, as the PI continues the research with collaborators and their students at other institutions. This means, unfortunately, that is no longer possible for students or postdocs to join the lab in Fullerton. PI H. Jochen Schenk will continue to teach in fall semesters at Cal State Fullerton for the foreseeable future. This web site will remain online to provide an overview of past and ongoing research in the lab. Also check out The Plant Connection on Substack, where Jochen Schenk writes stories about (re)discovering our real connections with plants and how they in turn connect us with the biosphere.
The research in the “Plants & H2O” Lab at Cal State Fullerton has addressed many aspects of the interactions between plants and water and has ranged in scope from the physiology of the water-conducting system of vascular plants (the xylem) to the structure and function of plant hydraulic systems and the role of plants in the global water cycle. The most recent focus of the research has been on physiological mechanisms that allow water transport in xylem under both negative and positive pressure.
At the cellular and subcellular level, we studied the roles of insoluble lipid surfactants in xylem function and the formation and dynamics of lipid-coated nanobubbles in xylem sap. Our research at the tissue-level has addressed xylem osmoregulation and movement of water and solutes in xylem and between xylem and phloem, the other vascular system of plants. At the whole-plant level, research topics included root pressure, sap flow, hydraulic conductance, and their relationships to xylem embolisms and drought stress. Much of this research has involved in situ measurements on intact plants using a variety of sensors. All projects mentioned have addressed both structure and function and included detailed studies of plant vascular anatomy. Another research aim has been to develop plant-based measures of drought stress that can be used to regulate irrigation in horticulture, including avocado and citrus. Past research has addressed the depths of plant root systems and their relationship to water availability, especially at the global scale, and competition for water between plants. Our research has implication for water conservation and irrigation needs of woody plants used for landscaping and as fruit and nut crops.
Follow us on social media: #rivertothesky
The research in the “Plants & H2O” Lab at Cal State Fullerton has addressed many aspects of the interactions between plants and water and has ranged in scope from the physiology of the water-conducting system of vascular plants (the xylem) to the structure and function of plant hydraulic systems and the role of plants in the global water cycle. The most recent focus of the research has been on physiological mechanisms that allow water transport in xylem under both negative and positive pressure.
At the cellular and subcellular level, we studied the roles of insoluble lipid surfactants in xylem function and the formation and dynamics of lipid-coated nanobubbles in xylem sap. Our research at the tissue-level has addressed xylem osmoregulation and movement of water and solutes in xylem and between xylem and phloem, the other vascular system of plants. At the whole-plant level, research topics included root pressure, sap flow, hydraulic conductance, and their relationships to xylem embolisms and drought stress. Much of this research has involved in situ measurements on intact plants using a variety of sensors. All projects mentioned have addressed both structure and function and included detailed studies of plant vascular anatomy. Another research aim has been to develop plant-based measures of drought stress that can be used to regulate irrigation in horticulture, including avocado and citrus. Past research has addressed the depths of plant root systems and their relationship to water availability, especially at the global scale, and competition for water between plants. Our research has implication for water conservation and irrigation needs of woody plants used for landscaping and as fruit and nut crops.
Follow us on social media: #rivertothesky
From left to right: Encelia farinosa stem colored with acid Fuchsin; E. farinosa xylem under confocal microscopy with acid Fuchsin in red and fructan crystals in blue, nanobubbles in xylem sap of Geijera parviflora; vessel wall of E. farinosa with FM1-43 dye; inter-vessel pits of Malosma laurina; a culm of the bamboo Neololaba atra under confocal microscopy with starch in red and cell walls in green.
