Understanding how plants adapt to water stress

If there's one thing we take for granted more than the infinite availability of water, it would be the technical ability of our best scientists should that availability ever come into question.

Well, the infinite availability of water is very much in quesiton and what is the reaction of scientists? Looking to Mother nature for clues to survival in water-limited environments:

[With] a $1.5 million collaborative grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers at the University of Georgia, the University of California at Riverside, the University of Texas and the University of Buffalo are looking to Mother Nature for clues about how plants survive in water-limited environments and what people can do to engineer crops that require less of this precious commodity.

"Agaves, yuccas and their relatives, together with orchids living in the canopies of tropical dry forests, are known for their ability to thrive in water-limited environments," said Jim Leebens-Mack, associate professor of plant biology in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and principal investigator for the project. "If we can understand how these plants adapt to water stress at the molecular level, we can learn how to increase water efficiency in economically important plants like biofuel and food crops."

During normal photosynthesis, most plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through pore-like structures on leaves known as stomata. The CO2 combines with water and sunlight to produce the carbohydrates a plant needs to grow as well as oxygen.

This approach is both humbling and inspired. When scientists realize their limits, recognize and reconcile that fact that humans can refine our sustainability efforts with help from nature - rather than fighting against it - we can empower conservation efforts that truly make a difference - because they will exist in harmony with our environment. I realize that the use of words like 'harmony' can sound/read as too touchy-feely for some. But living in concert with our surroundings and resources will be the key to the best stewardship practices - and hence our own health and happiness.

Congratulations to Leebens-Mack and his colleagues around the country. Let's learn from nature and live better - in every sense.

Image: Surface irrigation system using siphon tubes. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.