Plants are incredibly diverse, and so are botanists! In its mission to spread fascinating stories about the plant world, Botany One also introduces you to the scientists behind these great stories.
Today, we have Lucy Sauereßig, who is in the second year of her PhD in microbial ecology at the University of Marburg (Germany). In her project, Lucy is trying to bridge the gap between ecology and microbiology and understand the complexity of a functioning ecosystem. We are working on trees, specifically the pedunculate oak Qercus robur, and investigating the role of the phyllosphere microbiome —the microorganisms associated with the aboveground organs of the plant— and its interplay with the host. For Lucy, it is essential to see research as a tool to learn and understand complex interactions created by nature to protect and conserve natural systems.
Photo by Lucy Sauereßig.
What made you become interested in plants?
When I did my Master’s degree, I worked as a student helper in the Botanical Garden in Marburg. I started learning more about plants, and I became fascinated by their incredible variety. For my Master’s thesis, I travelled to the Austrian Alps to study plant and bacterial succession on a glacier forefield. Seeing how vegetation gradually develops with plants and lichens starting to colonize bare rocks deepened my appreciation for nature’s adaptability, while the retreating glacier underscored the fragility of these ecosystems at the same time. With that experience in my mind, I think I entered the world of plants, still not seeing plants isolated from the surroundings but trying to understand all the linkages and interdependencies between microorganisms, plants and animals forming a functioning entity worth being protected.
What motivated you to pursue your current area of research?
I am curious about our options as humans to preserve nature and protect ecosystems. With my current project, I see the applicability of counteracting climate change by understanding the critical interactions within ecosystems, in this case, forests. As forests not only play major roles in carbon sequestration and water and nutrient cycling, they also provide value for us as humans by offering temperature-regulated, calm and peaceful refuges to find inner balance and release mental stress while reconnecting with nature.
Mesocosm experiment with oak seedlings. Photo by Lucy Sauereßig.
What is your favourite part of your work related to plants?
For me, working with plants is always quite meditative and calming. You start an experiment and over time (weeks) you observe the response of the plant. This is very different from other areas of biology, such as in molecular laboratories, where experiments often only last a few hours, and results can be determined immediately after completion. With plants, you somehow accompany the process for a longer period of time. And, of course, I really love doing fieldwork, being outside and collecting plant material in the sun during the summer season.
Are any specific plants or species that have intrigued or inspired your research? If so, what are they and why?
Oaks, for sure. Since we are dependent on collecting the leaves of our research trees from the canopy top, we did climbing training, which enabled us to climb those trees ourselves. We met a wonderful person, Vicki, a professional tree climber and arborist, who introduced us to the world of tree climbing. As I got to an oak tree canopy for the first time, I felt very honoured to be able to see a tree and the whole forest from this perspective. I especially enjoyed the wide canopy and branched structure of oaks, and I really like their coarse bark. To be honest, it feels just like another world up there in the trees.
Professional tree climbers climbing into the canopy of an oak tree. Photo by Katina Müssig.
What advice would you give young scientists considering a career in plant biology?
This is a difficult question as I haven’t been working in this field for a long time myself. But I think it’s always good advice to listen to yourself and check whether what you’re doing actually fulfils you. Especially in science, you spend so many hours of your life working on very detailed, intricate projects, so it just makes sense that you feel passionate about your subject – whether it’s plant biology or something else.
What do people usually get wrong about plants?
People often think that plants are boring and take plants and their existence for granted. But I think learning more about plants, their diversity and enormous value for us as humans is not only interesting but could broaden the horizons of many people and hopefully help to protect plants, their natural habitats and all the associated organisms.
Fieldwork material. Photo by Eric Martinè and Lucy Sauereßig.
Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra
Carlos (he/him) is a Colombian seed ecologist currently doing his PhD at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and working as a Science Editor at Botany One and a Communications Officer at the International Society for Seed Science. You can follow him on BlueSky at @caordonezparra.
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