ANBG Friends Plant Science Group - Technical Talk

Top-down rehydration: absorption of atmospheric water (vapour, dew, rain) by leaves of mangroves

Professor Marilyn Ball, FAA, Research School of Biology, ANU

Despite growing in a coastal wetland with an infinite supply of water, the grey mangrove, Avicennia marina, does not rely solely on uptake of water by roots. Instead, the leaves have specialised structures that enable absorption of water from atmospheric sources (water vapour, dew, deliquescence of salt, and interception of rainfall) and water storage. This water supply plays an important role in maintaining leaf functions, especially when highly saline soils limit the capacities of roots to supply water to shoots.

Marilyn Ball received a PhD in Environmental Biology from The Australian National University (1982). She held postdoctoral positions at the University of California, Berkeley (1981-1984) and the ANU North Australia Research Unit in Darwin (1985-1988), and was awarded an ARC National Research Fellowship in 1989. She has led an eco-physiological research group since appointment in 1990 to a tenured position in biology at ANU, and is a member of the Australian Antarctic Research Advisory Committee.

The meeting will take place in the ANBG Theatrette.