How do belowground microbial communities assemble, change through time, and interact with aboveground vegetation? As key mediators of nutrient cycling and ecosystem dynamics the influence of belowground microbial communities is key to forest health and function. I am using a combination of approaches to identify how disturbances, tree neighborhoods, and time alter these microbial communities. 

What pre-, active-, and post-fire forest characteristics drive wildfire behavior and post-fire forest recovery? To answer this and related questions, I am utilizing the globally unique, Fire Behavior Assessment Team (FBAT) dataset to assess forest resilience and recovery in California mixed-conifer forests. 

How do microbial communities respond to direct and indirect effects from wildfire? Do altered microbial communities change post-fire forest resilience? These are some of the questions I am pursuing with collaborators at Michigan State University, the Fire Behavior Assessment Team, and Utah State University. Together, we hope to untangle the influence of wildfire behavior on the belowground microbes within western mixed conifer forests.

As my first foray into ecological research, the high-elevation, old-growth forests of Utah represent a special research interest of mine. Most any research questions relating to these magnificent landscapes are of interest.  Previous and ongoing questions involve the role of wind, drought, competition, and facilitation in influencing deterministic and neutral processes within these globally unique forests. 

I use remotely sensed burn severity (delta and relative normalized burn ratio [dNBR, RdNBR]) in combination with long timeseries of climate, vegetation types, ignition locations, and topography to understand the impacts and drivers of wildfire frequency, severity, and area burned in the western USA.