Research in my lab focuses on the physiological and ecosystem ecology of trees and carbon cycling in forested ecosystems.  A focal point for this research is an improved understanding of forest disturbance and recovery processes, and forest response to climatic and atmospheric change.  Most of this research has been carried out in tropical forests of the Brazilian Amazon, in conjunction with Brazil's National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) and NASA's Large-scale Biosphere Atmosphere experiment in Amazonia (LBA).  Locally in the Gulf Coast Region, we are developing hurricane impact research projects in bottomland hardwood and flooded swamp forests, and an experimental system for exploring sea level rise effects on coastal forest tree species.  These activities are funded by DOE National Institute of Climate Change Research  (NICCR) Coastal Center grants.  Reforestation and carbon sequestration projects are also being developed in Brazil's Atlantic Rainforest with colleagues at the Instituto Ambiental Vale do Rio Doce (IARVD) Linhares Reserve.  A number of new projects are using remote sensing tools to address landscape-scale questions (Chambers et al. 2007)

Current research questions explored in my lab include:

• What factors influence how efficiently trees convert photosynthate into new tissues and biomass?
• Is carbon dioxide a limiting resource for old-growth tropical forests on nutrient deficient soils?
• How do disturbances at the landscape-scale influence ecological processes and species interactions?
• What are the physiological responses of coastal tree species to variable salinity and water height?
• What assemblages of tree species are most effective for rapidly restoring forests on degraded land in the tropics?

These and other research topics are further explored following the links on the upper left.