{"id":436772,"date":"2024-07-22T18:25:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-22T22:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.utk.edu\/cluster-hire\/?page_id=436772"},"modified":"2026-04-10T08:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:35:00","slug":"plant-ecosystem-resilience-in-a-changing-environment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.utk.edu\/cluster-hire\/plant-ecosystem-resilience-in-a-changing-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Plant Ecosystem Resilience in a Changing Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Alhagie<\/span>
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Accelerating development of climate-ready crops<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Cluster Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As the world\u2019s population heads toward nine billion, climate change threatens a primary source of humanity\u2019s food\u2014plants. Changing environmental conditions directly and indirectly impact plant health and crop yields. Agriculture must evolve to enable long-term food security at household, national, and global scales. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cluster\u2019s vision is to enhance food security by proactively developing climate-resilient crops that will stand up to future temperature, drought, salinity, pest, and disease challenges. It aims to accelerate genomics-based breeding of crop plants and intentional development of microbiomes that promote plant growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re building on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville\u2019s long-standing strengths in fundamental and applied plant sciences, microbiology, mathematics, computational sciences, and public policy by adding breadth and depth in cutting-edge technologies, including machine learning. We intend to weave education and outreach into everything we do to facilitate timely translation of research into real-world solutions applicable in Tennessee and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultivating Ideas<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re building on our strengths across multiple fields, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n