Our group studies the fundamental processes controlling carbon and nitrogen cycling in soil, litter, and streams within natural and managed ecosystems. A primary goal of this work is to develop a stronger scientific basis for modeling soil organic matter dynamics, ecosystem processes, and the global carbon cycle with an emphasis on how perturbations to ecosystems (e.g., woody plant encroachment, increases in atmospheric CO2, invasive species, storm events) interact with soil properties to sequester or release carbon and nitrogen.

We use field-based experiments, such as the Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) sites or maintained chronosequences of forest encroachment, laboratory mesocosm experiments, such as earthworm feeding studies, and a variety of analytical approaches including molecular chemistry, microbial activity assays, and stable isotope techniques.