Honored for Research and Sustainable Landscaping Program

He notes that Utah set a statewide goal of using 35% less water per person by 2050 as compared to water used in 2000. A significant portion of the decrease must come from reducing irrigation in urban landscapes which accounts for 50-65% of current urban water demand. Sun also studies landscape plants’ reactions to saline irrigation water, important work as water supplies in many places in the world have rising salinity levels.

Sun’s sustainable landscapes program has two major objectives:

1) developing understanding of plant responses to environmental stressors such as drought or salinity;

2) promoting the use of native plants for water-efficient landscaping by developing more efficient propagation methods and sustainable management practices.

The program’s goal is to help people create aesthetically appealing landscapes that utilize research-based maintenance techniques and incorporate native plants.

Plants, Soils and Climate Department Head, Professor Paul Johnson, attributes Sun’s success to his talent, hard work, and enormous energy.

“Youping really strives hard to give students a good, hands-on experience, and his students can feel that,” said Johnson. “He is very important to our Center for Water-Efficient Landscaping group, connecting well to other universities in the West and Utah-based companies. He is an excellent scientist and an asset to the Utah nursery industry.”

“Working in landscape horticulture with an emphasis in water conservation is an exciting research program with many challenges,” said Sun. “As a passionate researcher in this field, I enjoy addressing these challenges and finding ways to support growers and landscapers and positively impacting the environment.” �