Ensminger Lab

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 […]

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

Congratulations to Maria Proskurina and Samira Kamal Eddin who presented their ROP research at the Summer Undergraduate Research Fair on August 20th, 2024. Maria presented her in-depth study on drought tolerance in Picea glauca, utilizing both destructive and non-destructive methods. Meanwhile, Samira explored the impact of soil moisture on the turgor loss point across various

At our Pintendre experimental site in Quebec, part of the Fastpheno project, Grace and Emilie embarked on a field mission to collect fresh plant samples. Their objective? To determine the turgor loss point (TLP), a key indicator of plant water stress. In simple terms, TLP is the water potential level at which plants begin to

Preparations are underway for the garden plot drought experiment for this summer, on White Spruce in a controlled environment! Christina, Grace, Samira and Emilie went out to label trees for destructive versus non-destructive sampling. We are excited to see the results of the experiment in the coming months!

Our team, Emilie, Grace and Samira, headed to Pickering for the first campaign of the year, which involved tree selection and sampling! We are looking forward to an exciting field season ahead!