Baton
Rouge, LA - SU Ag Center has recently received $479,672 funding for three years
(2014-2017) from USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Capacity
Building Grant Program to undertake a multi-disciplinary research entitled “Urban
Tree Interception of UV (A/B) Radiation and Its Genetic Consequences.” The project
director is Dr. Yadong Qi, professor of urban forestry and the co-project
directors include Dr. Wei Gao, professor and director of USDA UV-B Monitoring
and Research Program at Colorado State University, Fort Collins; Dr. Rao Uppu, professor and chairman of
environmental toxicology, SUBR; Dr. Wesley
Gray, professor of chemistry, SUBR; Dr.
Kit L. Chin, professor of horticulture, SU Ag Center; and Dr. Shuju Bai, associate professor of
computer science at SUBR.
“This multi-institutional and
multi-disciplinary research team represents the best partnership and
collaboration in the field of UV-B monitoring and research. The team will have two
major tasks: to develop UV (A/B)
interception models to understand how forest canopy influences UV radiation in
urban environment, and to investigate UV (A/B) induced DNA damage and
associated repair mechanisms in selected group of southern broadleaf tree species,”
said Dr. Yadong Qi, PD.
The partnership with Dr. Gao’s
group at Colorado State University USDA UV-B Monitoring and Research Network
will ensure streamlining SU's portable UV-B monitoring station to be coupled
with the Network's Baton Rouge ambient monitoring station. Gao’s group will
provide system calibration, participate in canopy UV transfer modeling task, host
and train graduate and student interns for the project.
Co-PDs Dr. Uppu and Dr. Gray will
participate in DNA damage and repair research task and student advisement. Co-PDs
Dr. Shuju Bai and Kit L Chin will participate in measurements and modeling of
canopy-UV interaction. The project will provide training opportunities to
postdoc scientists, graduate students, and undergraduate interns in urban
forestry and environmental toxicology.
“With this new project, we will focus on discovering the role of DNA damage and repairing mechanism in UV-B tolerance in southern trees and modeling the forest canopy influences on UV radiation in urban environment. The results will contribute to a better understanding of UV effects on the trees' genetic stability and quantification of urban forest effects on ground level UV distribution. Such knowledge is not only important to the scientific community, but also crucial to planning and management and long-term sustainability of urban forests”, said Dr. Qi.
This new project has also received
strong endorsements, technical support and collaboration from several well-know
research experts in DNA damage/repair and UV climatology, including Dr.
Gordon Heisler, research meteorologist, USDA-FS Northern Research Station, Dr. Joseph Sullivan, professor in plant
physiology at University of Maryland-College Park; Dr. John R. Battista, professor in biological science at LSU; and Dr. Ann E. Stapleton, associate
professor in genetics at University of North Carolina in Wilmington.
The knowledge of UV-B tolerance
capacity in diverse trees will have implications in predicting forest health
and ecosystem productivity and in designing effective urban and community
forest management strategies. The project will strengthen our institutional
research competitiveness and enhance research and student training capabilities
at Southern University.
Dr. Yadong Qi can be reached at
225-771-4408 or via email yadong_qi@suagcenter.com
###
Contact:
Bridget
Udoh
(225)
771-5714
bridget_udoh@suagcenter.com
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