From Canada to the Caribbean: Tree leaves control their own temperature, Penn stu...(39 species across 50 degrees of latitude...)

Date:6/11/2008

39 species across 50 degrees of latitude and found that in warmer climates leaves were cooler than ambient temperatures and in cooler climates the opposite was true. Perhaps the more remarkable finding was that across such a large area and across so many types of tree that the leaves seemed to be operating at the same temperature, probably a result of natural selection acting to maintain optimal temperature for photosynthesis in the face of widely varying ambient climates.

The continental-scale dataset used in this research was part of a separate study done by Suzanna Richter, a contributor to this study and post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at Penn. "Multi-million-year-old wood that colleagues and I collected in Arctic Canada and Siberia was so well preserved that it both looked like modern wood and burned like modern wood. Its fantastic preservation brought about questions as to whether the chemistry of the wood could be used to determine the climate that the trees grew in millions of years ago."

Although there are few studies that compare tree-canopy temperatures throughout an entire growing season, a recent study using infrared thermal imaging of a mixed forest in Switzerland agreed with the current study: canopy temperature was 4-5 degrees (Celsius) higher than the cool, ambient air temperature of Switzerland.

'/>"/>

Contact: Jordan Reese jreese@upenn.edu 215-573-6604 University of Pennsylvania Source:Eurekalert

0 GOOD

Page: 1 2 3
Related biology news :

1. Dr. John Polanyi wins Canadas most prestigious science award
2. Private Rocketeers reach for space -- science writer in Canada to explain
3. Groundbreaking Canada-US study proves link between emissions and mercury pollution in fish
4. Canadas pristine freshwater fisheries at risk
5. Canadas pristine freshwater fisheries at risk
6. Groundbreaking Canada-US study proves link between emissions and mercury pollution in fish
7. Canada provides $1.4M for removal of hazardous trees from provincial recreation sites
8. 12 McGill researchers awarded Canada Research Chairs
9. Mountain pine beetle: Canadas new government delivers
10. Aquaculture concept leaves judges goggle eyed
11. Why do autumn leaves bother to turn red?