Ensminger Lab

Bridget, Anchalya and Noelle, rolled up their sleeves for a big spring reset at the site. The mission? Carefully removing the spruce seedlings from the Spruce Up project to clear the way for exciting new experiments. Armed with gloves, tools, and plenty of good spirit, they tackled the task under the spring sun, because before […]

With longer days and warmer temperatures, we’re excited to launch our next round of experiments. The team is getting ready to head back into the field and the greenhouse to continue exploring plant growth, physiology, and resilience in changing environments.🌳🌳 Stay tuned, new data, discoveries, and updates are on the way as the season unfolds!

We are thrilled to announce that Bridget Murphy has been awarded the Outstanding Student Presentation Award (OSPA) at the AGU 2024 conference for their exceptional poster presentation, “Contrasting Phenotypic Plasticity of Photosynthesis and Xylem Architecture in Response to Summer Warming and Drought in a Slow-Growing and Fast-Growing Family of Field-Grown White Spruce.” Bridget’s work was

Happy New Year, everyone! Hope you all had a fantastic holiday season and are feeling recharged for an exciting year ahead. Wishing you a year full of groundbreaking discoveries, successful experiments, and inspiring collaborations. Let’s keep pushing the frontiers of science together!

From December 9-13, 2024, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting took place in Washington, D.C., bringing together over 25,000 Earth and space scientists to explore this year’s theme, “What’s Next for Science.” Representing the Ensminger Lab, Siyu and Bridget presented their research on white spruce (Picea glauca) responses to environmental changes. Siyu’s study, “Disentangling

In this image, Bridget is meticulously preparing semi-thin sections of White Spruce using the parafilm method. She carefully produces cuts of 15 µm in thickness to closely examine the xylem anatomy. Her analysis of the growth rings will reveals potential differences in tree structure that depend on both environmental factors and genetic predisposition.

Siyu is measuring leaf spectral reflectance in white pine. Leaf spectral reflectance refers to the amount of light reflected by a leaf at different wavelengths across the visible and infrared spectrum. This technique helps assess plant health, photosynthetic efficiency, and water status by detecting subtle changes in leaf properties.  Siyu and Ivory are grinding white

Last summer, Anchalya, Olivia, and Maria took on a bold challenge in the UTM research greenhouse—simulating drier climates to test the resilience of white spruce and white pine, two vital conifer species. Their mission? To uncover how these trees defend themselves against climate stress using sustained non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), a powerful photo-protective mechanism. By exposing

Our Drone Crew, Emilie, Sylvain, Gregory, Siyu, and Luke, recently completed an exciting drone flight mission at both the Turkey Point and Pickering sites. Armed with a new technology, the team deployed a UAV equipped with a lidar and hyperspectral camera, capable of capturing unparalleled data from above. Before taking to the skies, the crew