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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · 7d

🌳 Sugar maples sacrifice nitrogen use efficiency for greater water use efficiency while keeping photosynthesis steady. This field test of least-cost theory has big implications for land carbon models. Blog 👇
research.reading.ac.uk/lemontree/tr...
@eaperkowski.bsky.social @nickgregsmith.bsky.social

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · 13d

Super glad to see this work finally out after a seemingly endless review process. This paper improved greatly from these reviews and I’m grateful for reviewers that provide thorough and constructive feedback.

Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · 13d

We also find that nitrogen-water use tradeoffs were not modified by soil pH, indicating that previous studies that note effects of soil pH on nitrogen-water use tradeoffs may really be demonstrating implicit soil nutrient effects on these tradeoffs

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · 13d

We show that trees maintained photosynthesis rates across a nitrogen fertilization gradient by trading less efficient nitrogen use for more efficient water use, providing strong support for nitrogen-water use tradeoffs predicted from first principles of photosynthetic least-cost theory

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · 13d

🚨New paper alert! 🚨

“Increasing nitrogen availability increases water use efficiency and decreases nitrogen use efficiency in Acer saccharum” is now in press at Tree Physiology!

@nickgregsmith.bsky.social @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/treephys/adv...

Increasing nitrogen availability increases water use efficiency and decreases nitrogen use efficiency in Acer saccharum”

Abstract. Photosynthesis links terrestrial carbon, water, and nutrient cycles. Photosynthetic least-cost theory suggests that plants optimize photosynthesi

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · 20d

Our annual meeting hosted this year by @youngryel.bsky.social at Seoul National University, brought together our international team to share research updates, plan our next steps and train our ECRs in remote sensing. A very successful week. Read more 👇
research.reading.ac.uk/lemontree/annu…

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Aug 13

At 5pm today at #esa2025, @alissarcheaib.bsky.social will present her poster: 'The satisfaction of leaf nitrogen demand under drought is modulated by soil nitrogen availability and drought severity".

This research highlights that water-nutrient interactions must be jointly considered in models.

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Aug 13

This pm at #esa2025, @snehanjanac.bsky.social will present her work: "The influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant resource use economics" in session COS-Mycorrhizae 2 (3.30-5pm).

This work examins how AMF affect plant resource use strategies under different water & nutrient regimes👌🌿

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Aug 11

Thursday, August 14: I will present a poster titled "The power of traits: How population growth rate is shaped by leaf and plant traits across global environmental gradients" in LB 18-239 at 17:00 in the Exhibit Hall (poster)

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Aug 11

Wednesday, August 13: @alissarcheaib.bsky.social will present "The satisfaction of leaf nitrogen demand under drought is modulated by soil nitrogen availability and drought severity" in PS 29-039 at 17:00 in the Exhibit Hall (poster)

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Aug 11

Wednesday, August 13: @snehanjanac.bsky.social will present "The influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on plant resource use economics" in COS 122-02 in BCC 339

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Aug 11

Come check out my talk this afternoon where I’ll try to make sense of N and P effects on leaf and whole plant traits! Starts at 14:00 in BCC 349. See ya there!

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Aug 11

Today (Monday, August 11): @eaperkowski.bsky.social will present "Global response patterns of plant functional traits to combined nitrogen and phosphorus addition are driven by additive individual effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition" in COS 009 at 14:00 in BCC 349

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Aug 11

Today at #esa2025: @eaperkowski.bsky.social is presenting his talk:

"Global response patterns of plant functional traits to combined nitrogen and phosphorus addition are driven by additive individual effects of nitrogen and phosphorus addition"

Session: COS – Physiological Ecology 1. 1.30-3pm.

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Aug 11

The PhUnFETTy lab will have four presentations at #ESA2025. These will cover plant ecophysiology, trait ecology, eutrophication, water availability, mycorrhizae, demography, theory, modeling, and more!

Check out the flyer and replies below for more details. Hope to see you in Baltimore!

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Aug 9

See you all at #ESA2025! Finally got a Monday afternoon talk slot 😁

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Aug 8

It's almost time for #esa2025 and we've got @nickgregsmith.bsky.social, @eaperkowski.bsky.social @alissarcheaib.bsky.social and Snehanjana Chatterjee heading there to present their LEMONTREE research.
For more info on their talks head over to the blog...
research.reading.ac.uk/lemontree/le...

LEMONTREE at ESA 2025: Exploring Trait-Based Ecology, Resource Economics & Global Change - Lemontree

Members of the LEMONTREE team are heading to the Ecological Society of America (ESA) conference in Baltimore to present new research on vegetation dynamics, climate extremes, and carbon cycle modellin...

research.reading.ac.uk

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Jul 3

The lab has new 2025 pubs on topics including:

- CO2 acclimation
- C4 trait spectra
- Stem respiration
- Phosphorus allocation
- Predicting plant communities
- Acclimation timescales

(full links in replies)

Check out more in a blog on the lab website here! www.smithecophyslab.com/news#mid2025...

Smith Lab

Website for Smith Ecophysiology Lab at Texas Tech University

www.smithecophyslab.com

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

Nick Smith @nickgregsmith.bsky.social · Mar 27

We have a new paper out from our Powell Center C4 working group: "C4 photosynthesis, trait spectra, and the fast-efficient phenotype"

The @newphyt.bsky.social Tansley Review led by Russ Monson explores what we know about the C4 trait spectra

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

C4 photosynthesis, trait spectra, and the fast‐efficient phenotype

It has been 60 years since the discovery of C4 photosynthesis, an event that rewrote our understanding of plant adaptation, ecosystem responses to global change, and global food security. Despite six...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Reposted by Evan Perkowski

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Mar 26

🌿 New research by @giulimeng.bsky.social reveals how plants in arid climates adjust carbon uptake as soil moisture declines. A new empirical function improves predictions of water stress impacts on ecosystems & models!🔗Read more: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@globalchangebio.bsky.social

The Response of Carbon Uptake to Soil Moisture Stress: Adaptation to Climatic Aridity

Written Summary: Plants need water to grow, but plants in arid climates generally use water more conservatively even in wet conditions and adjust their carbon uptake as soil moisture declines. We use...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 26

Check out this blog post summarizing our recent paper on leaf and whole plant responses to elevated CO2!

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Mar 26

🌿 New blog post! How does nitrogen shape plant responses to rising CO₂? In short: leaf-level responses are driven by nitrogen demand, while whole-plant growth is constrained by nitrogen supply. Read more: 🔗 research.reading.ac.uk/lemontree/ho... @eaperkowski.bsky.social @nickgregsmith.bsky.social

How Does Nitrogen Shape Plant Responses to Elevated CO₂? - Lemontree

Discover how nitrogen shapes plant responses to elevated CO₂ in this new study using eco-evolutionary optimality theory. Learn how nitrogen demand regulates leaf-level photosynthesis, while nitrogen a...

research.reading.ac.uk

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 25

Check out our new paper! 2025 has already been quite the productive year for the lab!

LEMONTREE @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social · Mar 25

📣📖New paper out in @newphyt.bsky.social🌿
"Soil resource acquisition strategy modulates global plant nutrient and water economics" by @alissarcheaib.bsky.social @nickgregsmith.bsky.social & @eaperkowski.bsky.social
🔗 Read it here: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #EEO #LEMONTREE

Soil resource acquisition strategy modulates global plant nutrient and water economics

Natural selection favors growth by selecting a combination of plant traits that maximize photosynthetic CO2 assimilation at the lowest combined carbon costs of resource acquisition and use. We quant...

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 18

This work was also a contribution to the @lemontree-uofr.bsky.social group. I am super proud of the work and am glad it's finally out for all to read and engage with!

(6/6)

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 18

This work helps resolve the longstanding question as to whether nitrogen supply or demand drives plant responses to eCO2, showing that nitrogen demand regulates leaf-level responses to eCO2 and nitrogen supply constrains whole-plant responses

(5/6)

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 18

Whole-plant responses to elevated CO2 were enhanced with increasing nitrogen fertilization, supporting the large body of work indicating that nitrogen limitation constrains whole-plant responses to elevated CO2. Inoculation played no role in modifying whole-plant responses to elevated CO2 (4/6)

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 18

We found strong evidence suggesting that leaf-level photosynthetic responses to elevated CO2 were not modified by nitrogen fertilization or inoculation treatments. Instead, results indicate strong support for photosynthetic acclimation responses expected from eco-evo optimality theory (3/6)

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Evan Perkowski @eaperkowski.bsky.social · Mar 18

We grew soybean seedlings under full-factorial combinations of two CO2, two inoculation (presence/absence of nitrogen-fixing bacteria), and nine nitrogen fertilization treatments to assess the role of nitrogen demand, availability, and acquisition strategy on plant responses to elevated CO2 (2/6)

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