flowchart TB
subgraph "1956-1987 Argentina"
B[Family farm + INTA] --> C
C[Univ. Buenos Aires, Ing. Agr., MSc]
end
subgraph "1987-1991 UK"
C --> D[Univ. Edinburgh, PhD]
end
subgraph "1991- FINLAND"
D --> E[METLA Suonenjoki]
E --> F[Univ. Joensuu] --> H
E --> G[METLA Joensuu] --> H
H[Univ. Jyväskylä] --> I
I[Univ. Helsinki] -.-> J
J(Retirement):::retirementclass
J -.-> K((?)):::futureclass
end
classDef retirementclass fill:#FFA
classDef futureclass fill:#AFA
Looking back 40 years
Research into environmental sensing and acclimation
Pedro J. Aphalo
2024-05-28
Presentation roadmap
- Where I come from
- What research I have been doing
- What is my expertise
- What are my skills
- Finding shared interests
Parallel “lives” as researcher
- Plants and their environment
- Research instrumentation
- Data and computers
These subjects and skills have been intertwined during my whole life, influencing and facilitating each other.
Research subjects have varied over 40 years but there has been continuity in the development of ideas with some ups and downs.
Timeline summary of places
It all started in our farm
- My mother owned a bookshop in Buenos Aires, frequented by writers and academics.
- My father managed the family farm (mostly cattle) and collaborated in research by INTA, Argentina’s “Luke”.
- Exposed as a young boy to research and researchers of several nationalities.
- As a teenager I was already more interested in crops and farm machinery than in cattle.
At the university
- 1982: Ing. Agr. with focus on crop breeding (Bs. Aires).1
- 1989: M. Sc. in Plant Production (Bs. Aires).2
- 1991: Ph. D. in Science (Edinburgh).3
- 2001: Dosentti in Physiological Plant Ecology (Joensuu).
Jobs in Finland
- 1992-1994: at METLA Suonenjoki, working with Risto Rikala and Hessu Smolander. I also collaborated with Elina Vapaavuori.
- 1995-2001: Joensuu, with short-term contracts, at the University of Joensuu and METLA, as well as fellowships (contibuted to “root lab”).
- 2001-2006: University of Jyväskylä: Lecturer (Yliassistentti) in Environmental Statistics and Metrics.
- 2006-2024: University of Helsinki: Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Physiological Plant Ecology.
My “historical” research topics
- Most of the research I have lead as PI has related to plants’ responses to neighbours/light/shade/UV or to plants’ water relations and drought.
- I have contributed to research in other subjects: mineral nutrition, mycorrhizas, agronomy, forestry, economy, and even fish parasites. Collaborators: Tarja Lehto, Tapani Repo, Lena Finer.
- I have published research articles, reviews, chapters, books and also data sets and software.
Top left, Buenos Aires. Top center and righ, Suonenjoki. Middle row, Joensuu. Bottom row, Jyväskylä.
Current research focus
- Preemptive acclimation to drought: theoretical framework, environmental cues and response mechanisms.
- Functions of UVR8 and CRY, the UV photoreceptors, in day/sunlight vs. controlled environments.
- Plants’ responses (growth, morphology, phenolics) to fluctuating visible light and UV radiation.
- Theory: the definitions of stress and strain and their scaling up from plant-parts to communities.
Vicia faba
