Dr. Paul W. Barnes, J.H. Mullahy Endowed Chair in Environmental Biology, and Dr. Susanne Neugart, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biology, recently attended a network meeting of the International Association of Plant UV Research (UV4Plants) held in Bled, Slovenia from April 15-18.  Scientists and students from 20 countries (mostly in Europe) attended this conference to learn about recent research aimed at better understanding how ultraviolet radiation in sunlight influences plants and ecosystems.  Dr. Barnes gave an invited talk entitled “Understanding the role of photodegradation as a driver of litter decomposition now and in the future” and Dr. Neugart talked about “The interlink of UV transmittance and flavonoids in Okra driven by diurnal changes.”  Dr. Barnes also co-authored a poster with Robert Logan, a PhD student from Michigan State University entitled “Photodegradation of the plant cuticle increases biological decomposition by facilitating uptake of non-rainfall moisture.” Drs. Barnes and Neugart both serve on the Management Committee for this association and they met and networked with other scientists from around the world to collaborate on research projects and publications.