Plants for the future
Our community of researchers work across disciplines and sectors, engaging with stakeholders and communities, on a wide range of topics relating to plants.
Overview
Plants for the future is one of the Earth Institute's seven thematic research areas. Academic members of the plants for the future theme are drawn from across UCD and represent a wide range of disciplines and approaches.
The Institute works to support new connections and collaborations across disciplines and sectors and to enhance the impact and profile of research in this area.
Get in touch with our Plants for the future theme leads to find out more about our work in this area.
Plants for the Future research in UCD
Plants for the Future researchers in UCD are tackling global, national and local challenges - how are changing climates and extreme weather events affecting crop production and what can we learn from crop production in the past? How can plant disease resistance be improved to improve food productivity? How can we better understand plant responses to environmental change, abiotic and biotic stressors?
Plants for the Future research in UCD is carried out in a range of schools and colleges, centres, institutes and groups including:
Recent talks
Watch a selection of recent plant-themed talks, seminars and coffee morning presentations on topics including biopesticides and biofertilizers, how grasslands cope in extreme conditions such as droughts and flooding, and how ancient crops might be resilient to future climates.
Member spotlight
Dr Sónia Negrão from the UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science discusses multidisciplinary approaches to studying abiotic stressors and climate resilience in barley and other crops in our Earth Talks interview series
Research with impact
At UCD, our research makes a difference. We aim to collaborate and co-design research with the communities most impacted by our work, improving the lives of people throughout the world and working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The case studies below highlight some of the positive impact that research by Earth Institute members has had on Ireland and the world.
Case study: SmartGrass: Improving the sustainability of livestock farming
Agricultural systems that depend on high levels of chemicals, like nitrogen fertilisers, are not sustainable, nor are they socially acceptable. By investigating new types of grasslands that include different species of grasses, legumes and forage herbs, the SmartGrass project has started a national shift in grassland farming, enhancing productivity while also protecting the environment and climate.
Working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals
