Alex Burgess

Contact

• workRoom B224 South Lab
  Sutton Bonington Campus
  Sutton Bonington
  Leicestershire
  LE12 5RD
  UK
• Alexandra.Burgess@nottingham.ac.uk

Biography

ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1621-6821

2023 -

Assistant Professor of Agriculture and the Environment, University of Nottingham

2020 - 2023

Leverhulme Early Career Researching Fellow, University of Nottingham

2018 - 2020

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Nottingham

2016 - 2018

Postdoctoral Researcher, Queen Mary University of London

2013 - 2016

PhD, University of Nottingham

2010 - 2013

BA in Biological Sciences, University of Oxford

Expertise Summary

I study photosynthesis at the whole canopy level in crop plants. I am particularly interested in how architectural properties of plants determine light interception and use. I use methods such as 3-dimensional reconstruction and mathematical modelling to determine how different structural traits influence productivity. This is important because the quantity and colour (spectral composition) of light will determine how much yield a crop can produce, thus providing a route to food security. I am also interested in the use of alternative cropping practices to improve yield production- including agroforestry systems and intercropping, the cultivation of two or more crops simultaneously.

2022- Resilient Leaders Elements Accredited Consultant

2022 - Plant Physiology Assistant Features Editor

2021 - School of Biosciences Research Champion

Teaching Summary

I contribute to teaching in the following modules:

Academic Skills for Environmental Sciences

Applied Plant physiology: cell to crop

Sustainable Agricultural Systems

Forest Ecology

Ecosystem Processes

Climate Change Biology

I also serve as the MSci project coordinator for Environmental Science and Environmental Biology

Research Summary

Leverhulme Research Fellow, University of Nottingham, September 2020 -

ArchiCrop: Casting light on the architecture of crop yield

Crop yields are stagnating in many regions and whilst it is known that light is the key determinant of productivity, it is poorly understood. Project ArchiCrop will use a combination of biological experiments, image analysis and mathematical modelling to quantify how the structure (architecture) of a plant determines spatial and temporal differences in the quantity and composition of light and how this subsequently affects photosynthesis. I will use future climate change scenarios to determine how future weather patterns will influence productivity. I will also determine how farmer preference influences decisions regarding crop breeding and how the shape of architecture has changed.

Awards and Grants:

Royal Society Research Grants, January 2022

• H₂rObo: A semi-autonomous pipeline for the quantification of plant water use efficiency

Rank Prize Nutrition New Lecturer award, November 2021

• PlanNet: Plant Networks for improving crop productivity in response to climate change

Gatsby Grant for Exceptional Researchers, December 2020

• CropRay: A new improved ray tracer for analysing canopy light characteristics

Recent Publications

• ERIK H. MURCHIE, LORNA MCAUSLAND and ALEXANDRA J. BURGESS, 2022. Chapter 6 - Abiotic stress, acclimation, and adaptation in carbon fixation processes. In: ALEXANDER RUBAN, CHRISTINE H. FOYER and ERIK H. MURCHIE, eds., Photosynthesis in Action Academic Press. 103-132
• DURAND, MAXIME, STANGL, ZSOFIA R, SALMON, YANN, BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, MURCHIE, ERIK H and MATTHEW ROBSON, T, 2022. Sunflecks in the upper canopy: dynamics of light-use efficiency in sun and shade leaves of Fagus sylvatica. The New phytologist.
• ALEXANDRA JACQUELYN BURGESS, MARIA EUGENIA CORREA CANO and BEN PARKES, 2022. The deployment of intercropping and agroforestry as adaptation to climate change Crop and Environment.
• ERIK H. MURCHIE and ALEXANDRA J. BURGESS, 2022. Casting light on the architecture of crop yield Crop and Environment. 1(1), 74-85

• View all publications

Past Research

Postdoctoral Researcher, Plant & Crop Science, University of Nottingham March 2018 - August 2020

• CropBooster-P: Future-proofing our plants. EU Horizon 2020 funded. Part of a consortium to identify and prioritise targets for improving the yield production of Europe's crop plants.
• The 4-dimensional plant: Enhanced mechanical canopy excitation for improved crop performance. BBSRC funded. Determine the effect of wind-induced movement on light patterning within crop canopies and subsequent response of photosynthesis.

Postdoctoral Researcher, SBCS, Queen Mary University of London October 2016 - February 2018

• Novel methodology for quantitative assessment of the capacity for photoprotection in photosynthetic organisms. BBSRC funded. To use biochemical and biospectroscopic approaches to determine how components of the photosynthetic membrane determine the physiological processing of light.

PhD in Biosciences, University of Nottingham September 2013 - September 2016

• The variable light environment within complex 3D crop canopies. Fully funded scholarship by Crops For the Future and the School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham. A combination of plant physiology, 3-dimensional reconstruction and empirical mathematical modelling was used to determine how structural properties of plants determine the quantity of light reaching leaves and the subsequent response of photosynthesis for a range of crops.

• ERIK H. MURCHIE, LORNA MCAUSLAND and ALEXANDRA J. BURGESS, 2022. Chapter 6 - Abiotic stress, acclimation, and adaptation in carbon fixation processes. In: ALEXANDER RUBAN, CHRISTINE H. FOYER and ERIK H. MURCHIE, eds., Photosynthesis in Action Academic Press. 103-132
• DURAND, MAXIME, STANGL, ZSOFIA R, SALMON, YANN, BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, MURCHIE, ERIK H and MATTHEW ROBSON, T, 2022. Sunflecks in the upper canopy: dynamics of light-use efficiency in sun and shade leaves of Fagus sylvatica. The New phytologist.
• ALEXANDRA JACQUELYN BURGESS, MARIA EUGENIA CORREA CANO and BEN PARKES, 2022. The deployment of intercropping and agroforestry as adaptation to climate change Crop and Environment.
• ERIK H. MURCHIE and ALEXANDRA J. BURGESS, 2022. Casting light on the architecture of crop yield Crop and Environment. 1(1), 74-85
• HESSEL, VOLKER, LIANG, SHU, TRAN, NAM NGHIEP, ESCRIBA-GELONCH, MARC, ZECKOVIC, OLIVIA, KNOWLING, MATTHEW, REBROV, EVGENY, THIS, HERVE, WESTRA, SETH, FISK, IAN, GILLIHAM, MATTHEW and BURGESS, ALEXANDRA, 2022. Eustress in Space: Opportunities for Plant Stressors Beyond the Earth Ecosystem FRONTIERS IN ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCES. 9,
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J. and MAJDA, MATEUSZ, 2022. A future in 3D: Analyzing morphology in all dimensions PLANT PHYSIOLOGY.
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J and MAJDA, MATEUSZ, 2022. Pieces of the 3D puzzle: identification of genes underlying rice canopy architecture. Plant physiology.
• ALEXANDRA J BURGESS, TIARA HERMAN, ASGAR ALI*, ERIK MURCHIE, 2021. Interactions between nitrogen nutrition, canopy architecture and photosynthesis in rice, assessed using high resolution 3D reconstruction in silico Plants. 3(1), 1-15
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., DURAND, MAXIME, GIBBS, JONATHON A., RETKUTE, RENATA, ROBSON, T. MATTHEW and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2021. The effect of canopy architecture on the patterning of "windflecks" within a wheat canopy PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT. 44(11), 3524-3537
• GIBBS, JONATHON A., MCAUSLAND, LORNA, ROBLES-ZAZUETA, CARLOS A., MURCHIE, ERIK H. and BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., 2021. A Deep Learning Method for Fully Automatic Stomatal Morphometry and Maximal Conductance Estimation Frontiers in Plant Science. 12,
• SCHARFF, LARS B., SALTENIS, VANDASUE L. R., JENSEN, POUL ERIK, BAEKELANDT, ALEXANDRA, BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., BUROW, MEIKE, CERIOTTI, ALDO, COHAN, JEAN-PIERRE, GEU-FLORES, FERNANDO, HALKIER, BARBARA ANN, HASLAM, RICHARD P., INZÉ, DIRK, KLEIN LANKHORST, RENÉ, MURCHIE, ERIK H., NAPIER, JOHNATHAN A., NACRY, PHILIPPE, PARRY, MARTIN A. J., SANTINO, ANGELO, SCARANO, AURELIA, SPARVOLI, FRANCESCA, WILHELM, RALF and PRIBIL, MATHIAS, 2021. Prospects to improve the nutritional quality of crops Food and Energy Security. n/a(n/a), e327
• MAXIME DURAND, BAIBA MATULE, ALEXANDRA J. BURGESS and T. MATTHEW ROBSON, 2021. Sunfleck properties from time series of fluctuating light Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 308-309, 108554
• FOO, CHUAN CHING, BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, RETKUTE, RENATA, TREE-INTONG, PRACHA, RUBAN, ALEXANDER V and MURCHIE, ERIK H, 2020. Photoprotective energy dissipation is greater in the lower, not the upper, regions of a rice canopy: a 3D analysis Journal of Experimental Botany. 71(22), 7382-7392
• GIBBS, JONATHON A., BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., POUND, MICHAEL P., PRIDMORE, TONY P. and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2019. Recovering Wind-Induced Plant Motion in Dense Field Environments via Deep Learning and Multiple Object Tracking PLANT PHYSIOLOGY. 181(1), 28-42
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., GIBBS, JONATHON A. and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2019. A canopy conundrum: can wind-induced movement help to increase crop productivity by relieving photosynthetic limitations? JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY. 70(9), 2371-2380
• GIBBS, JONATHON A., BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., POUND, MICHAEL P., PRIDMORE, TONY P. and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2019. Recovering Wind-Induced Plant Motion in Dense Field Environments via Deep Learning and Multiple Object Tracking: Plant Physiology 181, 28-42
• RETKUTE, R., TOWNSEND, A. J., MURCHIE, E. H., JENSEN, O. E. and PRESTON, S. P., 2018. Three-dimensional plant architecture and sunlit-shaded patterns: a stochastic model of light dynamics in canopies Annals of Botany. 122(2), 291-302
• TOWNSEND, ALEXANDRA J., RETKUTE, RENATA, CHINNATHAMBI, KANNAN, RANDALL, JAMIE W. P., FOULKES, JOHN, CARMO-SILVA, ELIZABETE and MURCHIEA, ERIK H., 2018. Suboptimal Acclimation of Photosynthesis to Light in Wheat Canopies PLANT PHYSIOLOGY. 176(2), 1233-1246
• ALEXANDRA J. TOWNSEND, FRANCESCO SACCON, VASCO GIOVAGNETTI, SAM WILSON, PETRA UNGERER and ALEXANDER V. RUBAN, 2018. The causes of altered chlorophyll fluorescence quenching induction in the Arabidopsis mutant lacking all minor antenna complexes Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics. 1859(9), 666 - 675
• PLUMB, WILLIAM, TOWNSEND, ALEXANDRA J, RASOOL, BRWA, ALOMRANI, SARAH, RAZAK, NURHAYATI, KARPINSKA, BARBARA, RUBAN, ALEXANDER V and FOYER, CHRISTINE H, 2018. Ascorbate-mediated regulation of growth, photoprotection, and photoinhibition in Arabidopsis thaliana Journal of Experimental Botany. 69(11), 2823-2835
• TOWNSEND, ALEXANDRA J., WARE, MAXWELL A. and RUBAN, ALEXANDER V., 2018. Dynamic interplay between photodamage and photoprotection in photosystem II Plant, Cell & Environment. 41(5), 1098-1112
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., RETKUTE, RENATA, POUND, MICHAEL P., MAYES, SEAN and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2017. Image-based 3D canopy reconstruction to determine potential productivity in complex multi-species crop systems Annals of Botany. mcw242
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., RETKUTE, RENATA, HERMAN, TIARA and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2017. Exploring Relationships between Canopy Architecture, Light Distribution, and Photosynthesis in Contrasting Rice Genotypes Using 3D Canopy Reconstruction FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE. 8,
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, RETKUTE, RENATA, POUND, MICHAEL P, MAYES, SEAN and MURCHIE, ERIK H, 2017. Image-based 3D canopy reconstruction to determine potential productivity in complex multi-species crop systems Annals of botany. 119(4), 517-532
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J., RETKUTE, RENATA, PRESTON, SIMON P., JENSEN, OLIVER E., POUND, MICHAEL P., PRIDMORE, TONY P. and MURCHIE, ERIK H., 2016. The 4-Dimensional Plant: Effects of Wind-Induced Canopy Movement on Light Fluctuations and Photosynthesis Frontiers in Plant Science. 7, 1392
• POUND, MICHAEL P, BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, WILSON, MICHAEL H, ATKINSON, JONATHAN A, GRIFFITHS, MARCUS, JACKSON, AARON S, BULAT, ADRIAN, TZIMIROPOULOS, GEORGIOS, WELLS, DARREN M, MURCHIE, ERIK H, PRIDMORE, TONY P and FRENCH, ANDREW P, 2016. Deep Machine Learning provides state-of-the-art performance in image-based plant phenotyping bioRxiv.
• BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, RETKUTE, RENATA, PRESTON, SIMON P, JENSEN, OLIVER E, POUND, MICHAEL P, PRIDMORE, TONY P and MURCHIE, ERIK H, 2016. The 4-dimensional plant: effects of wind-induced canopy movement on light fluctuations and photosynthesis Frontiers in Plant Science. 7,
• POUND, MICHAEL P, ATKINSON, JONATHAN A, BURGESS, ALEXANDRA J, WILSON, MICHAEL H, GRIFFITHS, MARCUS, JACKSON, AARON S, BULAT, ADRIAN, TZIMIROPOULOS, GEORGIOS, WELLS, DARREN M, MURCHIE, ERIK H, PRIDMORE, TONY P and FRENCH, ANDREW P, 2016. Deep Machine Learning provides state-of-the-art performance in image-based plant phenotyping GigaDB.
• RETKUTE, R., SMITH-UNNA, S., SMITH, R.W., BURGESS, A.J., JENSEN, O.E., JOHNSON, G.N., PRESTON, S.P. and MURCHIE, E.H., 2015. Exploiting heterogeneous environments: does photosynthetic acclimation optimize carbon gain in fluctuating light? Journal of Experimental Botany.
• BURGESS AJ, RETKUTE R, POUND MP, FOULKES J, PRESTON SP, JENSEN OE, PRIDMORE TP and MURCHIE EH, 2015. High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Structural Data Quantify the Impact of Photoinhibition on Long-Term Carbon Gain in Wheat Canopies in the Field. Plant physiology. 169(2), 1192-204