The LEMONTREE team is a global collaboration with partners from the UK, US, Europe, China, and South Korea. It’s rare for the entire team to meet in person, so our annual meetings are always a highlight. This year, we gathered at Utrecht University, hosted by PIs Karin Rebel and Hugo de Boer, for a week filled with presentations, workshops, brainstorming sessions, and, for the first time, a summer school for our Early Career Researchers (ECRs).
As we approach year four of this five-year project, it was inspiring to see how much work has already been accomplished. We had the chance to reflect on progress and set our sights on implementing the P-model into key Earth System Models like JULES and ORCHIDEE.
What’s New?
Figure 1: Colin Prentice giving a lecture during the week.
The meeting kicked off on Monday, August 26th, with opening sessions from Colin, Karin, and Sandy. They shared updates on LEMONTREE’s progress and highlighted the importance of experimental measurements in developing our theories. Over the next few days, we heard from each of the working groups, which are designed to foster cross-institutional collaboration. These groups presented their latest updates and future plans:
- Working Group A: Leaf Area Dynamics and Carbon Allocation
Shirley’s team discussed unified models for leaf-area dynamics and carbon allocation, with insights into global leaf area trends and tree height predictions. - Working Group C: C, N, P Cycles Synthesis
Beni and colleagues shared findings on how soil nutrients influence carbon and nitrogen cycles across various climates. - Working Group T: Canopy Temperature
Pierre led discussions on how leaf temperature relates to energy balance and its deviation from ambient air temperature across scales. - Working Group D: Vegetation Dynamics and Functional Diversity
Huiying and her team explored root traits, stem respiration, and models that predict vegetation dynamics and functional diversity. - Working Group E: Ecohydrology
Amin’s group focused on improving hydrological models and understanding how plants use annual precipitation. - Working Group F: Fire-Vegetation Interactions
Olivia’s team presented their progress in modelling fire-vegetation interactions and post-fire recovery on a global scale. - Working Group I: Implementation
Pier Luigi and colleagues updated on integrating photosynthesis and respiration models into larger Earth system models like JULES and ORCHIDEE.
Each session showcased the incredible progress made by the teams, driven by our talented ECR leads. The presentations led to lively discussions and idea-sharing, fostering even greater collaboration between the groups.
Looking Ahead
The final day of the meeting focused on forward planning. With a packed two days of presentations behind us, the Implementation Working Group took centre stage, leading discussions on how to integrate insights from the various working groups.
The afternoon on day three then focused on future plans within the LEMONTREE project with discussion of questions such as:
- How do we assess model performance?
- What products are ready for implementation as we move forward?
- What are our focuses for the next 6 months? (Hint: soil moisture and carbon allocation schemes!)
This session set the direction for LEMONTREE as we move into the final stages of the project.
Summer School: Supporting Our Next Generation of Researchers
One of our key priorities this past year has been to ensure LEMONTREE not only delivers cutting-edge research but also provides robust support and guidance to our ECRs. To that end, we were thrilled to launch our first-ever summer school at this year’s meeting.
The LEMONTREE Summer School 2024 focused on essential skills and methods, including:
- Theory development
- Applying eco-evolutionary optimality models
- Conducting and analyzing leaf gas exchange measurements
These skills are central to LEMONTREE’s research, and the summer school aimed to broaden the skillset of our ECRs to enhance their ability to collaborate within the consortium and beyond.
The summer school was not only organized for ECRs but by them, with each ECR bringing their specific expertise to develop educational activities. Senior researchers were also welcome to join, fostering an inclusive learning environment.
Figure 2: Left – ECR’s conducting experimental measurements using the LiCOR and Right – PI Hugo de Boer giving a lecture to open the experimental portion of the summer school.
Highlights included a lecture from David Orme on Pyrealm, followed by a detailed talk from Shirley on running the model. Francesco Grossi from Bern University led a practical session on using the R package rsofun as an alternative option for running the P model.
The ECRs also had the chance to unwind after a full day of learning with a scenic boat tour along Utrecht’s beautiful canals, organized by Jan Lankhorst and Daniil Scheifes from Utrecht University. It was a perfect blend of knowledge-sharing and team bonding, and we’re already looking forward to the next one.
Please look out for our next blog post, which will be written by one of the ECRs who attended the summer school to share their thoughts on the experience!