Institution: USDA Forest Service
Department: Northern Research Station
P.O. Box 640 271 Mast Road
Durham, NH 03824
Hubbard Brook Role: Investigator
RakeshMinocha

Research Interests

Long-term goals of my research are: 1) to develop early biochemical indicators of environmental stress in trees using tissue culture as well as healthy mature trees growing under environmental stress in the field; 2) to genetically manipulate spruce and poplar tissues in culture in order to modulate their response to stress and/or their efficiency of regeneration through somatic embryo production. As a part of various interdisciplinary research teams: Involved with studying the wood core chemistry and foliar chemistry (including inorganic cations, polyamines, amino acids, proteins, and chlorophyll) at various sites in the Northeastern US in order to determine correlation between these parameters and root, soil, and soil solution chemistry. So far, putrescine, a polyamine, and arginine have shown the potential to be used as early indicators of physiological stress.

Hubbard Brook Publications by this Author

Young, A. R., Minocha, R., Long, S., Drake, J. E., & Yanai, R. D. (2023). Patterns of physical, chemical, and metabolic characteristics of sugar maple leaves with depth in the crown and in response to nitrogen and phosphorus addition. Tree Physiology, tpad043. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpad043
Blagden, M., Harrison, J. L., Minocha, R., Sanders-DeMott, R., Long, S., & Templer, P. H. (2022). Climate change influences foliar nutrition and metabolism of red maple (Acer rubrum) trees in a northern hardwood forest. Ecosphere, 13(2), e03859. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3859
Turlapati, S. A., Minocha, R., Bhiravarasa, P. S., Tisa, L. S., Thomas, W. K., & Minocha, S. C. (2013). Chronic N-amended soils exhibit an altered bacterial community structure in Harvard Forest, MA, USA. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 83(2), 478–493. https://doi.org/10.1111/1574-6941.12009
Sridevi, G., Minocha, R., Turlapati, S. A., Goldfarb, K. C., Brodie, E. L., Tisa, L. S., & Minocha, S. C. (2012). Soil bacterial communities of a calcium-supplemented and a reference watershed at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), New Hampshire, USA. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 79(3), 728–740. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2011.01258.x
Schaberg, P. G., Minocha, R., Long, S., Halman, J. M., Hawley, G. J., & Eagar, C. (2011). Calcium addition at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest increases the capacity for stress tolerance and carbon capture in red spruce (Picea rubens) trees during the cold season. Trees-Structure and Function, 25(6), 1053–1061. http://www.springerlink.com/index/610G06Q86767J205.pdf
Minocha, R., Long, S., Thangavel, P., Minocha, S. C., Eagar, C., & Driscoll, C. T. (2010). Elevation dependent sensitivity of northern hardwoods to Ca addition at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, USA. Forest Ecology and Management, 260(12), 2115–2124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2010.09.002
Juice, S. M., Fahey, T. J., Siccama, T. G., Driscoll, C. T., Denny, E. G., Eagar, C., Cleavitt, N. L., Minocha, R., & Richardson, A. D. (2006). Response of sugar maple to calcium addition to northern hardwood forest. Ecology, 87(5), 1267–1280.