Ecosystem Science

A key goal in my research group is to understand feedbacks between environmental drivers and the processes they control, such as the effects of global warming on soil organic matter decomposition. Feedbacks and interactions among ecosystem components, and the role of shifting plant communities, are among the biggest challenges in understanding ecosystem responses to global change.

Past changes in climate have affected ecosystem processes and vegetation distributions, and can provide insight into potential future climate-vegetation dynamics. Dendrochronology and paleoecology are tools that we combine with stable isotope analysis to evaluate past changes in precipitation seasonality and temperature at sites in North and South America.

Research Projects

Bark beetle impacts on carbon, water and nutrient cycling (NEW!)

Alaska tree rings, climate and fire (NEW!)

TasFACE: Australian grassland responses to CO2 and warming

Elise Pendall, Ph.D.

I conduct research on carbon and water fluxes between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, and on the effects of global changes such as increasing carbon dioxide concentrations and land-use change on these fluxes. An important component of my work involves the use of stableisotopes as tracers to better quantify small changes in these fluxes that might not otherwise be detected. Much of my research focuses on belowground carbon pools and processes to better characterize their role in ecosystem responses to global change.