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Northern Research Station
11 Campus Blvd., Suite 200
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(610) 557-4017
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Scientists & Staff

[image:] Rakesh Minocha Rakesh Minocha

Title: Plant Physiologist / Biochemist
Unit: Biological and Environmental Influences on Forest Health and Productivity
Address: Northern Research Station
271 Mast Road
Durham, NH 03824
Phone: 603-868-7622
E-mail: Contact Rakesh Minocha

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Education

  • Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 1985
  • M.S. Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 1978
  • M.Sc. (Honors), Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1976
  • B.Sc. (Honors), Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, 1975

Civic & Professional Affiliations

American Society of Plant Biologists, Ecological Society of America, International Society of Environmental Bioindicators

Current Research

Current research:

  • My research is focused on the physiological response of trees to injury, infection, and environmental change. Sources of injury may be obvious such as those from fire, storms, pests, pathogens and human activity. Significant, yet less obvious change may come from perturbations in soil chemistry due to acid rain.

Current research examines:

  • As a part of various interdisciplinary research teams, I examine wood and foliar chemistry (including inorganic cations, polyamines, amino acids, soluble proteins, and chlorophyll) at various sites in the Northeastern USA, Europe and Asia to determine the correlation between these parameters and other data on root, soil, and soil solution chemistry collected by our cooperators and collaborators. So far, putrescine, a polyamine, and arginine, an amino acid have shown the potential to be used as early indicators of physiological stress under field conditions.
  • The applicability and limitations of dendrochemistry to provide markers of environmental change.

Why is This Important

Stress from mechanical injury, subsequent infection, and environmental change are facts of life for wild, rural, and urban trees. This stress often impacts the diverse goals of forest management, wildlife conservation, high-quality wood products, or the desire for safe and healthy trees in our communities. Maximizing the benefits of trees for forests and communities requires understanding how these goals are linked to tree biology and early detection of tree response to environmental change.

Future Research

  • Keep working on the current research focus and add new indicators to our currently existing list that can predict changes in forest productivity.
  • Using molecular techniques, study the effects of environmental changes such as excess of nitrogen on microbial population intensity and/or diversity and ecosystem functions.
  • Develop new techniques or optimize existing techniques that can help us analyze tree samples for additional physiological indicators.
  • Write articles in trade journals or magazines of general public interest to transfer this technology on to environmental scientists and scientists belonging to other disciplines. This transfer will help the public understand the value of our research.

Featured Publications

Additional Online Publications

Other Publications by Rakesh Minocha *

  • Juice, Stephanie M.; Fahey, Timothy J.; Siccama, Thomas G.; Driscoll, Charles T.; Denny, Ellen G.; Eagar, Christopher; Cleavitt, Natalie L.; Minocha, Rakesh; Richardson, Andrew D. 2006 Response of sugar maple to calcium addition to northern hardwood forest. Ecology. 87(5): 1267-1280.
  • Zhang, Qingyuan; Xiao, Xiangming; Braswell, Bobby; Linder, Ernst; Ollinger, Scott; Smith, Marie-Louise; Jenkins, Julian P.; Baret, Fred; Richardson, Andrew D.; Moore,Berrien, III; Minocha, Rakesh. 2006. Characterization of seasonal variation of forest canopy in a temperate deciduous broadleaf forest, using daily modis data. Remote Sensing of Environment. 105: 189-203.

*Due to policy or copyright restrictions, we are unable to provide full-text versions of these publications. Please check with your local library or Contact Rakesh Minocha to inquire about reprints.

Last Modified: 02/15/2012