Plants play a key role in regulating Earth’s climate, but recent research suggests that rising temperatures could disrupt this balance, because plants are leaking more water than previously thought.
Plants play a key role in regulating Earth’s climate, but recent research suggests that rising temperatures could disrupt this balance, because plants are leaking more water than previously thought.
UBC assistant professor Dr. Sean Michaletz, a newly minted Sloan Research Fellow in the department of botany, studies how plants respond to heat. His findings challenge a long-standing assumption about plant water loss and could change how climate models predict future warming.
Our entire biosphere depends on plants. During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide through tiny pores in their leaves and, using light, ‘breathe out’ water vapour and oxygen in an exchange. Since carbon dioxide is the main driver of global warming, understanding how temperature affects this process is crucial for predicting climate change.
Read More: University of British Columbia
Dr. Sean Michaletz is a 2025 Sloan Fellow in Earth System Science. (Photo Credit: Paul H. Joseph/UBC)
