Currently a resident of North Carolina, but originally from Oregon, I recently completed my PhD in Ecology from the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Science at Duke University. I am broadly interested in how human environmental change is affecting ecosystem function and nutrient cycling in particular. I work in the Duke Wetlands Center examining how different wetland restoration strategies affect ecosystem function. My research combines the study of ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, biodiversity and ecosystem function, and wetland restoration.
My dissertation research included three questions pertaining to wetland restoration:
1) How does plant functional diversity affect two ecosystem functions, biomass nitrogen accumulation and denitrification potential, in a restored riparian wetland?
2) Can one model of how soil properties impact denitrification potential describe the data structure from two restored wetlands that have different historical land-use, restoration design, soil conditions, and plant communities?
3) How do soil organic matter amendements modify the soil properties, processes, and plant community development of a restored wetland?
I am also very interested in teaching and mentoring. I discuss these interests in greater detail on my teaching and professional development pages.
