Planting Science - Members: View: Rachel King

Rachel King

Profile

Profile

Time Zone

Central
Organization

University of Minnesota
Role

Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online
Research Interests (300 words)

I am interested in how tree seedlings take up nutrients, especially as the availability of those nutrients changes. My study area is the intersection of temperate and boreal forests in northern Minnesota. In this area, trees that mostly occur further south (temperate species) interact and compete for resources with species mostly found further north (boreal species). I want to figure out if these tree seedlings differ in how they compete for nitrogen, a nutrient that commonly limits plant growth in the region. This will help determine how forests may change in the future if the amount of nitrogen available to plants is altered.
Profile Question 1

Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

During one of my first research experiences, I literally got stuck in the mud. My project investigated the build up of carbon and nitrogen in mud flats along the Oregon Coast. We had to travel to them by "hovercraft" - a modified boat with a giant fan on the back that inflated these air-pockets so we could skim across the mud. Of course, being mud flats the ground wasn't very stable and I had a lot of trouble walking to our plots. I usually would slowly sink into the mud, desperately trying to keep upright. On more than one occasion, I sunk into the mud so far that I became stuck and my partner had to dig me out with various items we had on hand - once a boat paddle, another time a bucket. Eventually I had to wear these special boots to keep me from getting stuck - which greatly amused my field partner.
Profile Question 2

What is best about being a scientist?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

The best feeling is discovering something new. It doesn't have to be groundbreaking to be exciting - running a new lab analysis successfully for the first time, analyzing data from an experiment, seeing an effect of a treatment you impose - all of these things help keep science exciting. It takes a lot of hard work, but the nature of a scientist is to crave to know more.
Profile Question 3

What is the coolest thing you have discovered or learned about plants?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

There are so many strategies for plants to grow and reproduce. I've learned that some plants can be hemi-parasitic on other plants - where they can photosynthesize themselves but they also infect the roots of other plants to take some of their resources. Other plants form relationships with fungi to help them get nutrients from the soil, in exchange for some of the carbon they get from photosynthesis. Another plant can release chemicals that suppress the growth of other plants around it to reduce competition. So cool!
Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

2

Rachel King

Profile

Recent Posts

Skills & Endorsements