Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, (CAS)
中国科学院西双版纳热带植物园

Prof. Manuel Lerdau visited the Ecological Evolution group for one week (Mar. 2-8) to develop research ideas and proposals.  Manuel and Chuck has a common history as they both worked at the Cabang Panti Research Station in the Gunung Palung National Park in its early days.  Dr. Lerdau was actually part of the “A Team” who founded the research site in 1985, living in tents and establishing the trails and basic research activities.  During hist visit, Dr. Lerdau gave two lectures to XTBG students and faculty.  The first was about trace gas emissions of isoprene produced by some plants during brief episodes of heat and oxidant stress and the role of these trace gases in protecting the photosynthetic pathway.  The second lecture was about the invasive plant Kudzu in southeastern North America and how it has fundamentally changed biogeochemical cycling in the region.  This very interesting work demonstrates how a single species can actually change the composition of gases in the lower atmosphere, producing dangerous levels of ozone.  We hope this is the start of a long and beautiful collaboration