Martin Lab Research
Research in the Martin lab focuses on the dynamics of vegetation communities, including the influences of global change, natural disturbances and exotic invasive plants. Research projects include quantifying controls on landscape vegetation patterns by integrating environmental gradients and disturbance regimes, determining the influence of drought on tree seedlings and microbes, and understanding the long-term effects of exotic species on native plant communities and ecosystem function.
Tropical montane forest landscapes
For 20 years, we have conducted research on community organization in the tropical montane forests of the Dominican Republic. Tropical montane forests remain understudied, especially dynamics in these ecosystems. Our research has linked natural and anthropogenic disturbance with environmental gradients, finding they work in unison to spatially-pattern forest structure, composition and richness. In particular, large disturbances (fire, hurricanes) interact with biogeographic factors (the overlap of flora with temperate and tropical lineages common in subtropical montane systems) to form discrete ecotones in vegetation in these forests. |
Climate change and forest dynamics in the Rocky Mountains
We are developing field-calibrated, species-specific models of climate change effects on the ecology of dominant tree species in Rocky Mountain forests. Montane ecosystems are proving highly sensitive to global change as they undergo dramatic changes in climate. In recent decades, the Rockies have experienced fundamental shifts in precipitation and temperature increases over 3-times faster than the global mean, with cascading effects of forests. |
Exotic plant invasions
Using spatially-explicit models, field experiments and a simulation model (SORTIE-ND), we evaluated invasion dynamics of northeastern forests by two exotic tree species: Norway maple and tree of heaven. We focused on ecological limits to the colonization by exotic trees and their ability to deleteriously impact ecosystem processes and native biota. At present, most research on invasives has focused on highly disturbed ecosystems and the exotic plants which rapidly colonize these open environments. |