In this talk, I will discuss carbon, water, and energy exchanges from a tall, old-growth forest ecosystem. This well-studied forest has a complicated vertical structure, large aboveground biomass, and a great deal of epiphytic cover. My group has measured canopy temperatures and carbonyl sulfide (OCS) concentrations at this site to better understand the dynamics of leaf and canopy energy balance, photosynthesis, and conductance. Canopy photosynthesis is inferred from OCS fluxes and compared with estimates derived from eddy flux measurements.

The “bush tomatoes” (Solanum) of the Australian Monsoon Tropics continue to generate questions related to reproductive ecology, species boundaries, biogeography, and breeding systems evolution. This talk will summarize work done on this unusual group of plants in the Martine lab, often inclusive of undergraduate students, through a holistic research strategy that includes fieldwork, herbarium collections, greenhouse culture, and molecular approaches.