Ben Fletcher
My PhD project
My project is about the earliest plants that grew on land and their evolution. The aim is to better understand how the ancient atmosphere, which differed from today’s, affected the colonisation of the land by plants.
I will be looking at how stomata control photosynthesis. Stomata are pores that allow gases in and out of plants, but prevent them losing too much water. They have an important role in the evolution of plants, and provide clues about past climates. I will be studying the effects they have on photosynthesis and transpiration in simple plants that resemble fossils. This will provide information about the way that the first land plants grew.
How the atmosphere
affects plants
Stomata and the early evolution of land plants
