General Lab Research Description

Current research in the Hawkes lab is aimed at a mechanistic understanding of how plant-microbe interactions affect community and ecosystem processes. We also explore how these relationships are influenced by alterations in climate, land-use, and species invasions. Because this research integrates several areas of ecology, we combine a wide range of techniques, including DNA-based microbial community analyses, stable isotopes, and large-scale plant community manipulations.

We work on a range of projects on topics including:

• the role of soil microbes in ecosystem resistance and resilience to altered climate
• ecosystem effects of coupling and decoupling of plant and microbial processes
• local specialization of fungi to precipitation regimes
• plant effects on soil microbial communities and feedbacks
• the legacy of plant invasions in soils and effects on restoration success