Research Interests: I am currently researching: biotic and geochemical controls on ecosystem development along a three million year chronosequence; the influence of the genetics of a dominant plant on ecosystem processes: the effects of forest restoration treatments (e.g., thinning and/or prescribed fire) and wildfire on soil microbial communities and belowground processes; the role of nitrate in the internal nitrogen cycle of forests; the utility of insect communities as indicators of forest ecosystem health; how insect herbivory alters ecosystem processes; the impact of climate change on soil-plant-atmosphere interactions; and the impact of water diversion on riparian forests.
