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Elsa Cleland e-mail: ecleland@ucsd.edu |
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Research in the Cleland lab focuses on the intersection between plant community and ecosystem ecology, utilizing a combination of experimental, observational and data-synthesis techniques. We have a particular focus on global changes such as climate change, altered precipitation, nitrogen deposition, and invasive species. Current research projects include: 1) Quantifying ecophysiological responses of California native shrubs to shifting precipitation and nitrogen availability in the greenhouse, in comparison to measurements made across natural gradients. 2) Identifying environmental manipulations that maximize the success of ecological restoration efforts in coastal sage scrub ecosystems, and 3) Evaluating the role of phenology (or timing) in structuring native and invasive plant communities. Research into the impacts of global change offers the opportunity to ask fundamental questions about how resources and climate influence the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems, while contributing to a greater understanding of these pressing environmental problems.
Cleland, E.E., C.M. Clark, S.L. Collins, J.E. Fargione, L. Gough, K.L. Gross, D.G. Milchunas, S.C. Pennings, B. Bowman, I.C. Burke, W.K. Lauenroth, P. Robertson, J. Simpson, D. Tilman ands K.N. Suding (2008). Species responses to nitrogen fertilization in herbaceous plant communities, and associated species traits (Data Publication). Ecology 89:1175.
Funk, J, E.E. Cleland, K.N. Suding and E.S. Zavaleta (2008). Restoration through re-assembly: plant traits and invasion resistance. TREE 12: 695-703.
Cleland E.E., Chuine I., Menzel A., Mooney H.A. and M.D. Schwartz (2007). Shifting plant phenology in response to global change. TREE 22:357-365.
Cleland, E.E., N.R. Chiariello, S.R. Loarie, H.A. Mooney and C.B. Field (2006). Diverse responses of phenology to global changes in a grassland ecosystem. P.N.A.S.103(37):13740-13744.
Cleland, E.E., H.A. Peters, H.A. Mooney, and C.B. Field (2006). Gastropod herbivory in response to elevated CO_2 and N deposition: impacts on plant community composition. Ecology 87:686-694.
Cleland, E. E., M. D. Smith, S. J. Andelman, C. Bowles, K. M. Carney, M. C. Horner-Devine, J. M. Drake, S. Emery and D. B. Vandermast (2004). Invasion in space and time: Non-native species richness and relative abundance respond to interannual variation in productivity and diversity. Ecology Letters 7:947-957.
Mooney, H.A., and E.E. Cleland (2001). The evolutionary impact of invasive species. P.N.A.S. 98:5446-5451.
Elsa Cleland is a new facuty member at U.C. San Diego.