Plant-Environmental Interactions: The Kinmonth lab studies how plants sense and respond to their environment. This work is important for helping farmers and natural resource managers plan for the future. On-going research addresses questions that include the following for a range of plant species:
- Plants sense day length?! What?! Why? If you live away from the equator where there are clear seasons, you may have noticed that some plants flower only when the days get longer in summer while others flower once the days get shorter. Some plants use day length and/or other environmental features like length of winter as cues to transition to important life stages like reproduction. But not all plants sense these things, nor sense them the same way. The Kinmonth lab works to answer the following: are there specific climate features that lead to these different sensitivities and what are the mechanisms for these responses?
- Flowering time in a high [CO2] world. Carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere at a rate not seen for thousands of years. It is more than twice what plants were experiencing 20,000 years ago. As carbon dioxide is made into sugars by plants through photosynthesis and used for their food, how does having much more of it around affect them? The Kinmonth lab works to understand why more [CO2] in the atmosphere causes some plants, but not others, to change when they flower.
Research into Sustainable Agricultural Practices: The Kinmonth lab uses an applied approach to test strategies meant to improve efficiency and decrease the need for chemical inputs for local food production. Current projects include the following:
- Integrated Pest Management. Any gardener understands the frustration associated with garden pests. Yet, treating garden plants with chemicals is an undesirable option. Working in consultation with local growers, the Kinmonth lab is assessing the effects of planting native Tennessee wildflowers amongst mixed-vegetable plantings in collaboration with Tennessee Tech’s Shipley Farm.
- Decreasing inputs and chemical outputs in hydroponic growing systems. Hydroponic growing systems have the potential to efficiently address the food needs of our growing global population while decreasing chemical inputs and the negative effects of heavy land use. However, drainage from hydroponic systems can be a source of nutrient pollution, impacting water sources and waterways downstream. Spearheaded by Ronnie Dunn in the Department of Agriculture at Tennessee Tech, and in collaboration with others in the Department of Agriculture, this project uses mathematical modeling to develop tools for use by small hydroponic growers to improve their efficiency of fertilizer addition and ultimately decrease chemical outputs.
Research in Education: Dr. Kinmonth is interested in improving student confidence, resiliency, and critical thinking abilities inside the classroom and as they move into their careers. On-going projects include the following:
- Growth-based mindset. The mind is malleable and individuals have a great capacity to learn, grow, and change. However, sometimes we feel like there is something “different” or “wrong” about us that makes us not cut out for a certain class or career, even if we enjoy it. Dr. Kinmonth works with Dr. Kinsey Simone in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at Tennessee Tech to ask whether adjusting course presentation and grading to align with a growth-based mindset improves students’ confidence in and perceptions of biology courses.