Sharon Billings
Research Interests
- Ecosystem ecology
- Climate change
- Soil organic matter
- Microbial ecology
- Biogeochemistry
- Stable isotope ecology
Academic degrees
Ph.D., Ecosystem Ecology, Duke University, 1998
M.S., Ecosystem Ecology Duke University, 1996
B.A., Political Science, University of New Hampshire, 1991
Area of specialization
Global change biology
Research interests
Our research investigates how forest and grassland biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nutrients, and water is influenced by climate, vegetation, nutrient availability, and natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes. We explore scales ranging from microorganisms to the whole ecosystem. In so doing, we invoke tools from a wide range of disciplines, including ecosystem ecology, ecophysiology, microbial ecology and soil science. We quantify pools and fluxes of carbon and nutrients in soils and vegetation to assess how ecosystems respond to environmental conditions, often using stable isotopic signatures in biomass, soil organic matter, and multiple greenhouse gases to infer driving mechanisms.
Publications
Please see a list of Sharon's publications on her lab website.