Plant Physiological Ecology Laboratory

Research Emphasis

Dr. Ewers's Laboratory investigates how plants control energy flows and mass cycles at scales ranging from organs to landscapes. His lab group uses a variety of tools in their investigations including gas exchange, isotope ratios, lab-induced embolism, sap flux, micrometeorology, remote sensing, spatial analyses and process-based modeling. These tools are applied to a variety of ecosystems ranging from crops to forests to steppe grasslands.

Current Research Projects

-Impact of time since fire on boreal forest carbon, water and nutrient cycles
-Bark beetle and symbiotic blue-stain fungi controls over carbon, water, energy and nutrient fluxes from Rocky Mountain Forests.
-Genetics of drought adaptations of water relations and productivity in Brassica rapa (oil-seed rape) and related crops