Project Manager, Centre for Forestry and Climate Change
Email: mike.perks@forestry.gsi.gov.uk
Tel: +44 (0)131 445 2176
Tel direct: +44 (0)131 445 6935
Fax: +44 (0)131 445 5124
Address:
Forest Research
Northern Research Station
Roslin
Midlothian EH25 9SY
UK
Mike Perks joined Forest Research in 2001, where he has specialised in tree establishment, ecophysiology and the application of molecular technology to nursery operations. Previously he studied for a PhD in ‘Conifer Water Relations in Response to Drought’ at the University of Edinburgh (1994-1998), and postdoctoral research utilising ecophysiological approaches (particularly chlorophyll fluorescence) for improvement of Douglas fir nursery production, at University College Dublin (1998-2001).
Current role
Project Manager, Centre for Forestry and Climate Change
Tree Ecophysiologist and Project Manager for ‘Integrated Establishment Systems for the Uplands’ [IESU]. The research unit covers all aspects of the establishment chain (e.g. nursery production, tree species choice, establishment practices and methods for natural regeneration) including silvicultural management options (e.g. nutrition, cultivation and weed control) under different silvicultural systems.
Current programmes
Integrated Establishment Systems for the Uplands
COLDTREE (EU FPV)
UK Co-ordinator
The application of cDNA microarray technology for unravelling molecular events underlying dormancy and cold hardiness in forest tree seedlings
OAKFLOW (EU FPV)
Ecophysiologist
Studying ‘Ecological consequences of geneflow and hybridisation in UK oak populations’, also in association with CEH (Edinburgh)
Establishment Management Information System (EMIS)
Primary developer
Initial Growth Modelling (IGM)
Developer
Affiliations and achievements
- Chartered Biologist (Institute of Biology: CBiol, MIBiol)
- Society of Experimental Biology (SEB)
- Federation of European Societies of Plant Physiology
- Graduate of the Institute of Biology
Research areas
- Ecophysiological assessments of tree seedling quality and plant performance
- Cold storage and dormancy: nursery operations
- Ecophysiological effects of drought
- Frost resistance and cold tolerance in trees
- Management options in the establishment decision chain (development of a decision support system - Establishment Management information System, EMIS)
- Physiological responses encoded by molecular genomics
- Seedling response under ATC (CCF) regimes
- Water transport in trees
- Initial growth modelling
Main recent publications
Perks, M.P., Osborne, B.A. & Mitchell, D.T. (2004). Rapid predictions of cold tolerance in Douglas-fir seedlings using chlorophyll fluorescence after freezing. New Forests 28, 49-62.
Perks, M.P., Irvine, J. & Grace, J. (2004). Xylem acoustic signals from mature Pinus sylvestris during an extended drought. Annals of Forest Science 61, 1-8..
Perks, M.P., Irvine, J. & Grace, J. (2002). Stomatal conductance and xylem sap abscisic acid (ABA) in mature Scots pine during a gradually imposed drought. Tree Physiology 22, 887-883.
Perks, M.P., Monaghan, S.M., O’Reilly, C., Osborne, B.A. & Mitchell, D.T. (2001). Chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics, performance and survival of freshly lifted and cold stored Douglas fir seedlings. Annals of Forest Science 3, 225-235.
Byrne, K.A. & Perks, M.P. (2000). Possibilities for carbon sequestration in Irish forests. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 4 (4), 300-302
Perks, M.P. & Ennos, R.A. (1999). Analysis of Genetic Variation for Quantitative Charactes between and within four Native Populations of Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris). Botanical Journal of Scotland 51, 103-110.
Irvine, J., Perks, M.P., Magnani, F. & Grace, J. (1998). The response of Pinus sylvestris to drought: stomatal control of transpiration and hydraulic conductance. Tree Physiology 18, 393-402.
Perks, M.P.& McKay, H.M. (1997). Morphological and physiological differences in Scots pine seedlings of six seed origins. Forestry 70, 223-232.
