Research interests:

I am interested in ecosystem nutrient cycles and how rhizosphere and microbial processes regulate these cycles. The N cycle, in particular, is strongly influenced by biological components of soils including plant-microbe symbioses. Mycorrhizal and N fixing symbioses enhance plant acquisition of N via scavenging from the soil environment or by fixing it directly, but they come at a C cost to the plant. While these associations are often regulated at a plant level and they persist and function on small scales, they can have broad scale consequences by mediating feedbacks between plants and soils, influencing plant community dynamics and ecosystem N cycles. My research has explored diversity in mycorrhizal fungal communities and functional differences among mycorrhizal types in the acquisition of N. I am currently interested in symbiotic N fixation in tropical forests, nutrient controls on fixation and the mechanisms of nutrient acquisition in the rhizosphere of tropical trees.

PUBLICATIONS