Researcher

As an ecosystem ecologist, I incorporate concepts in both plant ecology and soil biogeochemistry to understand how changes in plant species composition influence nitrogen and carbon cycling.  In my research, I use a combination of experimental and observational studies that span a diversity of terrestrial ecosystems.

Invasive species in pine forests

Non-native, invasive species can have significant impacts on ecosystems by altering biogeochemical cycling through differences in nutrient uptake strategies, tissue chemical composition, and flammability.  Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) is considered one of the most invasive species worldwide and can lave a once diverse pine understory into a monotypic stand of cogongrass. Despite its aggressive invasibility and wide invasion range within the southeastern United States how cogongrass alters ecosystem structure and function is largely unknown. 

Woody encroachment
​in drylands

A combination of over-grazing and drought has led to woody encroachment of Prosopis spp.  (mesquite) into grasslands in drylands of the southwestern United States. Differences in canopy architecture and plant tissue chemical composition between mesquite and grasses can alter ecosystem processes such as the breakdown of plant litter and soil organic matter and the availability of nutrients that control the cycling of carbon through terrestrial ecosystems. 

Woody encroachment
​in arctic tundra

Temperatures in northern latitudes are warming at twice the rate of the rest of the globe, driving changes in plant communities from ones dominated by grasses to ones now dominated by woody plants.  Differences in canopy architecture and plant tissue chemical composition between grasses and woody plants can alter ecosystem processes such as the breakdown of plant litter and soil organic matter and the availability of nutrients that can control the cycling of carbon through terrestrial ecosystems. 
If you are a student at the University of Florida and you would like to
volunteer to gain research experience ​please e-mail me at jennied@ufl.edu.