Forests are a massive carbon sink and home to hyper-diverse microbial communities. Each year, forests absorb 1/9th of all the carbon dioxide emissions released by humans. We rely on forests for carbon storage, but also timber, biomass, biodiversity, and cultural and artistic connection. Yet global forests are vulnerable to climate change, deforestation, and invasive species, and these pressures are only exacerbating over time. This is why a major focus of our research agenda focuses on the links between soil microbiomes and emergent forest system functioning, especially forest growth, death, nutrition and carbon cycling. See recent coverage of this work in BBC Earth  [scan QR code or click here].

Microbes are drivers of terrestrial biogeochemistry. How they will respond to global change will feedback to shape earth system functioning. Our research explores how biotic invasions, climate change, nitrogen pollution, and other aspects of global change affect forest fungi and the ecosystem processes they mediate. 

This research spans scales from the individual site to global level. Our ultimate goal is to better predict how fungi will respond to global change and in turn whole forest functioning.

Explore our publications on fungal responses to global change below and see our global collaboration page. 

Microbial growth and death can build soil carbon stocks while decomposition can release carbon. Microbial inputs constitute a major fraction of the total soil carbon and nitrogen pool. While the exact proportion of microbial versus plant derived soil carbon is unclear, current estimates suggest ca. 50%. How microbial community variation contributes to soil carbon formation, stabilization, and loss is a key area of investigation fundamental to understanding soil biogeochemistry, informing carbon cycling models, and sustainably managing our ecosystems. 

• A review of microbial community features that constrain soil organic carbon formation

• How fungi are linked to soil carbon stocks with root versus litter removal and additions

• A review on the role of biotic interactions in shaping microbial carbon use efficiency

Mycorrhizae are nearly everywhere plants grow. What sustains the symbiosis and what evolutionary and ecological factors contribute to variation in mycorrhizal fungal outcomes?

The loss of mycorrhizae: Some plants have escaped this symbiosis. What are the ecological implications of this and how did it occur?

• The role of indolic glucosinolates in maintaining the non-mycorrhizal nature of mustard plants

Arabidopsis plants inoculated with AMF that maintain the potential to produce indolic glucosinolates (left) and plants transformed to lack this capacity (right). AMF act parasitically on Arabidopsis plants that cannot protect themselves using indolic glucosinolates. 

In some mustard plants, AMF can actually enhance plant growth! See our recent work on Alliaria petiolata invasions in PCE.