Timothy S. George

Understanding how plants react to and alter their external environment is key to optimising their nutrition and resilience to environmental change. This understanding has implications for our ability to manage the sustainability of agriculture and natural ecosystems. I am specifically interested in understanding the physiology of and genetic controls on plant responses to nutrient deficiency and drought. I have specific expertise in understanding how the external environment mitigates plant physiological and genetic responses to a lack of phosphorus in the rhizosphere. In addition, I am interested in how plants interact with the soil chemical, biological and physical environment to impact nutrient cycles, specifically organic P turnover and micronutrient availability. I have a specific interest in finding genes and traits in traditional landraces of crops, such as Bere barley, which have utility for enhancing agricultural sustainability. This work will help identify useful traits and cultivars for future agricultural environments which are more nutrient efficient so that agriculture can be managed at less nutrient replete levels reducing its impact on the wider environment.