Research
in the laboratory addresses both basic and applied ecology at scales ranging from local to global. My
primary research focus
is the ecology and biogeochemistry of terrestrial ecosystems, with emphasis
on native and managed forest ecosystems in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific.
Much of my
research involves quantifying pools, fluxes and allocation
of carbon and nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems to examine their
plasticity and
response to a suite of global change variables, using Hawaiian forests
as model study systems for asking globally relevant questions. I
am particularly interested in how climate change, invasive species,
disturbances such as wildfires,
and their interactions impact plant-soil-atmosphere
exchanges of carbon, water, and nutrients. I also conduct
more applied research on the conservation and restoration of native
Hawaiian terrestrial ecosystems.
In line with past and ongoing research
in the laboratory,
my teaching interests are in forest ecosystem ecology and
biogeochemistry, global change biology, restoration ecology, invasive
species ecology, and disturbance ecology. I
teach or have taught graduate coursework in Ecosystem Ecology (NREM 680), Restoration Ecology (NREM 682) and Conservation Biology (BOT/NREM/ZOOL 690), and
undergraduate coursework in Natural Resource Management (NREM 301+L) and Applied Forest Ecology (NREM 480).