News and Events

Field site in Antarctica with a crate in the foreground and steep mountains in background.

Environments

We study soil microbial communities in Antarctica, microbes in hot spring ecosystems in Tengchong, China, methane production at Axel Heiberg Island near Greenland as an analog for life on other planets, and the distribution of soil microbial communities across the arid Southwest.

Close-up of cheatgrass

Soil Microbial Legacies of Invasive Species

Invasive plants like cheatgrass have huge and costly effects on ecosystems. Restoring native plants to areas invaded by cheatgrass is challenging, and one explanation for poor seedling establishment is the absence of beneficial soil microbes. In this project, we are testing the idea that restoring microbial communities promotes ecosystem recovery and the re-establishment of native plants.