General Lab Information

Alistair Rogers

Senior Scientist & Group Leader, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science & Technology Group, Environmental and Climate Sciences Department

Alistair Rogers

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
Bldg. 490A
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-2948
arogers@bnl.gov

Alistair is a plant physiologist. His work is focused on increasing mechanistic understanding of the physiological processes that impact plant responses to global change, and representation of that process knowledge in Terrestrial Biosphere Models. His research has covered many natural and managed ecosystems including row and forage crops, and deciduous and evergreen temperate trees, and most recently tropical forests and Arctic tundra. Alistair's work also considers processes downstream of carbon assimilation that can have important feedbacks on photosynthesis and plant growth, specifically whole plant source-sink balance and carbon and nitrogen metabolism. His earlier work was centered on the response of plants to elevated carbon dioxide concentration, in particular, Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) experiments where plants were exposed to elevated levels of carbon dioxide in their natural environment. His interest in understanding plant responses to global change continues in the Arctic where he is using novel passively warmed field enclosures to study the impact of elevated temperature on photosynthesis and respiration.  He is also interested in combining measurement of leaf reflectance with traditional physiological and biochemical approaches to enable rapid estimation of key leaf-level traits for model parameterization and phenotypical screening.

Education | Publications | Awards

Education

  • BSc. Joint Hons. Biochemistry and Botany, 1994, University of Wales, Bangor, UK
  • Ph.D. Biology, 1998, University of Essex, UK

Selected Publications

  • Rogers A, Serbin SP, Way DA (2022) Reducing model uncertainty of climate change impacts on high latitude carbon assimilation. Global Change Biology 28:1222–1247. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15958
  • Rogers A, Dietz K-J, Gifford ML, Lunn JE (2021) The importance of independent replication of treatments in plant science. Journal of Experimental Botany 72:5270–5274. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab268
  • Rogers A, Kumarathunge DP, Lombardozzi DL, et al (2021) Triose phosphate utilization limitation: an unnecessary complexity in terrestrial biosphere model representation of photosynthesis. New Phytologist 230:17–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17092
  • Rogers A, Serbin SP, Ely KS, Wullschleger SD (2019) Terrestrial biosphere models may overestimate Arctic CO2 assimilation if they do not account for decreased quantum yield and convexity at low temperature. New Phytologist 223:167–179. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15750
  • Rogers A, Serbin SP, Ely KS, et al (2017) Terrestrial biosphere models underestimate photosynthetic capacity and CO2 assimilation in the Arctic. New Phytologist 216:1090–1103. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14740
  • Rogers A, Medlyn BE, Dukes JS, et al (2017) A roadmap for improving the representation of photosynthesis in Earth system models. New Phytologist 213:22–42. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14283
  • Rogers A (2014) The use and misuse of Vc,max in Earth System Models. Photosynthesis Research 119:15–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11120-013-9818-1

Awards & Recognition

2023 Fellow of the Oppenheimer Science & Energy Leader Program 
2022 Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2022 Distinction of Tenure
2002, 2004, and 2009 Outstanding Mentor, Department of Energy, Office of Science, Undergraduate Research Program.

Alistair Rogers

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Environmental and Climate Sciences Department
Bldg. 490A
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-2948
arogers@bnl.gov

Alistair's Links