We’re pleased to introduce our new Blog Editor! Curtis Lubbe joins the team to help manage the Journal of Ecology blog and publish author’s stories behind their research. Find out a bit about Curtis below:
Name: F. Curtis Lubbe
Location: Třeboň, Czech Republic
Keywords: belowground storage organs, drought, functional ecology, nonstructural carbohydrates, overwintering, storage
Tell us a bit about your area of research:
My research focuses on how plants avoid or reduce abiotic stress. I am primarily interested in the role of belowground structures, particularly storage organs of herbaceous perennial plants, as spatial and temporal avoidance strategies. Herbaceous plants in seasonal climates use their belowground storage organs to keep and protect resources (especially water and carbohydrates) for seasonal regrowth and to survive recurrent disturbance or other damage. This allocation is planned by the plant and different types of storage organs (and storage carbohydrates) can have different advantages depending on the stress and habitat.
What’s your favorite species and why?
It’s very difficult to pick a species, but I will say that I am particularly interested in the genus Oxalis. It has hundreds of species and is unusually diverse in the types and traits of their belowground storage organs. There are species with many different types of rhizomes, bulbs, and even stem tubers. The bulbs in particular vary in their size, multiplication, and unusual tunic traits such as the creation of sticky substances that keep new tunics and bulbs stuck to one another.
What are you most looking forward to about being a Blog Editor for Journal of Ecology?
I am excited to learn more about what is happening in plant ecology and to help authors tell their stories.
