Brian Atwell

Biography

I coordinated and taught second-year Plant Structure and Function (BIOL210) and third-year Plant Physiology (BIOL313) for many years. I currently coordinate second-year Comparative Physiology (BIOL229) and contribute a plant biology component to second-year Organismal Biology (BIOL228) and third-year Plant Ecosystems (BIOL347).

Research Interest

Specifically, I am interested in: the tolerance of plants to a range of abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, salinity and flooding. I carry out these studies in various crop species (rice, cotton, wheat etc). the wild relatives of modern, commercial crop plants. Many of these wild species have evolved in Australia. native species in their own right, as models for testing plant responses to the environment. Eucalypts and native grasses have extraordinary adaptive responses to a variety of stresses. canopy architecture because it is very genetically variable and turns out to be an important and relatively unexplored determinant of the productivity of plants. the interaction between enrichment of atmosphere with CO2 and abiotic stresses, particularly drought. This is a complex interaction but one which will prove to be central to plant performance in the next century. The biochemical control of volatile organic emissions in eucalypts.