Mark Bradford
Assistant Professor of Terrestrial Ecosystem EcologyDegrees
B.S., University of Exeter, UK; Ph.D., University of Exeter and Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, UK.
About
I am primarily interested in how global change will affect the plants, animals and microorganisms that inhabit terrestrial ecosystems, and what the consequences are for soil carbon stores and cycling. Our lab uses a suite of experimental and observational approaches to investigate these effects of global change. We work across forested and grassland ecosystems in the north and south of the eastern United States.
Currently, our research focuses on testing: where and how invasive grasses affect forest soil carbon stores; whether the effect of microbial communities on carbon and nutrient cycling can be predicted from environmental variables such as temperature and moisture; if understory herbs will decrease under projected climate change; and how loss of tree species will affect the ecosystem services provided by eastern U.S. forests.
The overall goal of our research is to provide the necessary mechanistic understanding required for reliable prediction of global change impacts on ecosystems, and their likely feedbacks to the climate system.
