John Evans is a plant physiologist who has specialised in quantitatively linking biochemical and anatomical properties to the performance of leaves and plants. Photosynthesis research has been the focus throughout his career. His research has made significant impacts in three areas:
Relating photosynthesis to nitrogen
Quantifying the conductance to CO2 diffusion within leaves
Analysing how plants acclimate to their light environment.
He has examined how nitrogen is partitioned between various photosynthetic proteins, how their distribution through leaves interacts with the distribution of light and CO2 diffusion within leaves. He is currently interested in improving photosynthesis to increase crop yields and is targetting the pathway of CO2 diffusion into the chloroplast, the light reactions of photosynthesis and using hyperspectral reflectance to phenotype wheat. His lab specialises in the measurement of gas exchange using infra red gas analysers, tuneable lasers to measure stable isotopes in CO2 and water, chlorophyll fluorescence and hyperspectral reflectance.
