Our group investigates the ecological impacts of climate variability and climate change on ecosystems in the US desert southwest, tallgrass prairie in Kansas, and savanna grasslands in South Africa.

Experimental drought reduces genetic diversity in black grama

From the abstract: Understanding the resistance and resilience of foundation plant species to climate change is a critical issue because the loss of these species would fundamentally reshape communities and ecosystem processes. High levels of population genetic diversity may buffer foundation species against climate disruptions, but the strong selective pressures associated with climatic shifts may also rapidly reduce such diversity. We characterized genetic diversity and its responsiveness to experimental drought in the foundation grass, black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda).

Continental scale study shows vulnerability of herbaceous species to nitrogen and sulphur deposition

From the abstract: Atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur pollution increased over much of the United States during the twentieth century from fossil fuel combustion and industrial agriculture. Despite recent declines, nitrogen and sulfur deposition continue to affect many plant communities in the United States, although which species are at risk remains uncertain. We used species composition data from >14,000 survey sites across the contiguous United States to evaluate the association between nitrogen and sulfur deposition and the probability of occurrence for 348 herbaceous species.

Cross-site synthesis project finds new mechanism for grazing effects on plant species diversity

To paraphrase the abstract:

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