Overview

Human activities are altering global carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles at an unprecedented rate.  It is unclear how significant changes in global elemental cycles will affect ecosystem functions, such as primary productivity or C storage over the long-term.  My research aims to understand how plant-microbe interactions mediate ecosystem-specific responses to global climate change.  This research connects microbial processes to ecosystem functions to yield new insights into microbial ecology and elemental cycling.  Research in my laboratory focuses on three main questions:

1. What are the mechanisms structuring soil microbial communities?
2. How do functional groups of microorganisms respond to changing environmental conditions (e.g. elevated atmospheric N deposition, warming, altered precipitation, restoration)?
3. How does variation in specific microbial communities relate to decomposition and N cycling?