Plants are essential for life on our planet as they underpin nearly all food chains. Plants provide us with food but also are important sources of sustainable materials and chemicals for industry, such as medicines, cosmetics, fibres and fuels. Plant science research is therefore essential for understanding ecosystem function and implications of climate change. Understanding how plants can be used and improved for higher crop yields, for improved nutrition and with enhanced resilience to biotic and abiotic stress is important for providing global food security. Plant science research also examines how plants and microalgae can be exploited to generate renewable and sustainable biofuels, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, or used for processes such as bioremediation. Our research studies natural ecosystems, crop species and model plants such as Arabidopsis. Plant Sciences research in the School includes the interactions between plants and soil microorganisms in ecosystem function and agriculture, understanding photosynthesis and plant metabolism in response to stress, genetic responses to biotic and abiotic stress, and biofuels and bioproducts from plants and algae.