Team

Kainrath’s research is focused on improving plant restoration techniques in sagebrush habitats that have been invaded by Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass). A major component of his study is to determine whether microbial inoculation is a beneficial option for land managers to improve growth and survivorship of transplanted native shrubs and grasses. Read more…

Hannah is researching how local adaptation of native plant populations might influence plant trait and performance. Using a common garden approach, this research aims to broaden our understanding of where to source native seeds for large-scale ecological restoration. Full Curriculum Vitae

Li’s research centers on soil microbial ecology and carbon biogeochemistry in the context of climate change, by looking into the roles of functional groups of microbes in carbon cycle and predicting their responses to changing environmental conditions. He also explores microbial ecology of pollutant degradation for the development of novel Read more…

Guopeng’s graduate work involves exploring the response of carbon cycle to altered precipitation amount and interannual variation in desert grassland using model method. Altered amounts and increased interannual variation of precipitation are likely to occur on a regional to global scale in the late 21st Century, yet understanding the interactive Read more…

Liu’s main research interests include soil microbial ecology, biogeochemistry (carbon and nitrogen cycling) and global climate change. Currently he is working on soil microbial diversity and it affect C cycling in response to substrate (sugar, plant litter or other organic materials) inputs. Also he is looking at what types of Read more…

Truettner is studying how wildfires affect the carbon cycle in Alaskan boreal forests using measurements from soils, tree rings, and forest stand demographics in reburned areas to further understand how these landscapes are turning from an atmospheric carbon-sink ecosystem to a source. Isotope dendrochronology is another passion and was the Read more…

Xingjie Lu is interested in studying ecosystem C cycle responses to climate change using compartment models. He focuses on understanding the response in traceable components of C cycle models, such as residence time and productivity. He also engaged in cutting-edge developments of trait-based terrestrial ecosystem models, trying to incorporate plant Read more…