Mark Kehoe
Project Title: Water use Efficiency of Diverse Sitka spruce Families
Overview: Mark Kehoe graduated from University College Dublin in 2023 with a BSc in Agricultural Science, majoring in Forestry. In 2024, he began his MSc by joining Teagasc as a Walsh Scholar and is currently working on the ADAPTForRes project funded by DAFM. His research focuses on assessing the impacts of drought stress on different provenances of Sitka spruce, a key commercial species in Irish forestry. The core objective is to investigate the species adaptive potential under water-limited conditions and to identify families that may be better suited to future Irish growing conditions as climate change progresses.
As part of the project, two controlled pollytunnel experiments were established to examine how reductions in water availability affects the growth of three-year-old Sitka spruce plants. Drought treatments were applied through both reduced daily water availability and the complete withholding of water until specific soil moisture thresholds were reached. These trials allowed for a detailed assessment of how drought stress influences plant development. Measurements of plant height, stem diameter, chlorophyll fluorescence, and biomass allocation provided insight into both physiological and structural responses. Mark’s overarching goal is to support long-term forest resilience in Ireland by informing future provenance selection and breeding strategies through evidence based research.
Programme Area: Crops, Environment and Land Use Programme – Forestry
Supervisors: Niall Farrelly , Brian Tobin (UCD) and Conor O’Reilly (UCD)
Location: Teagasc, Athenry
Funding Source: DAFM