Cold Region Plant Ecology & Physiology Group
(Formerly "Bioshere Dynamics Reserach Group")
Now Accepting New Graduate Students !!!
Graduate students in our lab will study under
Ecosystem Biology Course, Division of Biosphere Science,
Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido Univ.
Contact : (Prof. Hara)
or other professors of our lab : Lab members
Researches
Plant communities in the boreal region are likely tobe most affected by
global environmental change. However, there are still many unsolved questions
regarding plant communities in the boreal region. Our researches focus
on the establishment, regeneration and maintenance processes of herbaceous and forest communities in the boreal region, and their interaction with the physical environments.
Specific research topics are as listed below.
Field research in plant ecology
1) Growth and competition of individual plants
2) Dendrochronological research
3) Three-dimensional spatial structure of forests
Three-dimensional structure of tree branches in a broad-leaved forest.
(Reconstructed from field data measured with a theodorite laser surveyor.)
Field measurements of the physical environment
4) Radiation, temperature, rainfall in forests
Research in the laboratory
1) Plant growth experiments using a biotron
2) Analyzing the genetic make up of populations usingDNA fingerprinting
3) Physiological and biochemical analysis of photosynthesis
4) Development of mathematical models for scientificsynthesis
Field study sites
Forests and mountain meadows inHokkaido, Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia),
north-centralEurope
Sub-boreal forest in Taisetsu,Hokkaido (Betula ermanii , Abies sachalinensis, Picea jezoensis,etc.). By comparing photosynthetic mechanisms, we hope to elucidate how broad-leaved trees and conifers can coexist in the boreal region.
Through collaborative research, we aim to synthesize the interaction between
biological and physical processes.
- Photosynthetic and phenological responses to environmental stresses, such as low temperature, desiccation, photo-inhibition.
- Interactions among forest regeneration, growth, genetic make-up,energy
and water cycle, soil development, glacial dynamics, and developmentof
theoretical models to synthesize these processes that define the boreal
region.
- Ecological, genetic, systematic approach to the geographical differentiation
of annual and perennial herbaceous plants from Hokkaido to Kyushu regions.
 Hokkaido
University
Institute of Low Temperature Science
|
