Matthew Edmund Gilbert

Education: 

• Ph.D., Rhodes University; Botany (2008)
• B.Sc. (Honors), Rhodes University; Botany (2002)
• B.Sc., Rhodes University; Botany and Microbiology (2001)

Research interests and expertise: 

 My research addresses the mechanisms by which leaf photosynthesis and water loss respond to the environment. What are the mechanisms of stomatal response to light, CO2 and plant water relations? I investigate these questions in the context of environmental and ecological problems, often at a larger scale than leaves. An example is improving Land Surface Models to incorporate physiological stress responses to heat, water deficit, and light. My other research investigates whether it is possible to modestly reduce crop water use through breeding plants with altered stomatal characteristics ó but what are the physiological consequences of this manipulation in the field? My goals are to apply physiological models to generate predictions of the whole crop costs of altered water use, test the validity of these predictions in field experiments on diverse crop genotypes. Finally, I aim to use those field results to choose an appropriate trait and develop the screening techniques for use by breeders.

Current projects: 

• Almond Board of California funded project investigating sap (water) flow as a tool for evaluating almond water use
• Blueberry physiological adaptation to high pH soils in California (a CDFA-funded project)
• Evaluation of how to remove wheat yield limitations (funded project from the International Wheat Yield Partnership)
• How can we screen beans for useful drought responses? Ongoing research that involves collaboration with the Gepts Bean Breeding Lab
• The physiology of photosynthesis in leaves: 1) anatomical determinants, 2) dynamic variation under stress and damage.

Current teaching: 

• Metabolic Processes of Cultivated Plants; PLS 100A (fall quarter)
• Field Techniques in Plant Physiology; PLS 298 (spring or winter quarter)
• Other courses I teach segments of:
  • Metabolic Processes of Cultivated Plants Laboratory; PLS 100AL (fall quarter)
  • Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group Core Class; HRT 200A (fall quarter)
  • Ecology Graduate Group Core Class; ECL 200bn (winter quarter)
  • Plant Ecophysiology; PBI 210 (winter quarter, alternate years)

Outreach and Extension:

The focus of most of my research relates to solving practical problems for agriculture using basic plant physiology. Thus, many projects are directly funded by Californian, national and international groups related to specific crops. See Current Projects for examples.

Google Scholar

ORCID

Keywords:

• Phaseolus
• Beans
• Stomata
• Plant physiology
• Photosynthesis
• Mesophyll conductance
• Physiological ecology
• Environmental physiology
• Water use efficiency
• Drought