Rachel Keen


Rachel Keen
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, Billings Lab
she/her

Education

B.A. in Biology, Kansas State University, 2015
M.S. in Ecology, Utah State University, 2019
Ph.D. in Biology, Kansas State University, 2023

Research

Rachel's research interests broadly include plant ecophysiology, ecohydrology and biogeochemistry. Her Ph.D. research focused on the ecohydrological impacts of clonal shrub encroachment in tallgrass prairie. She continues to explore how vegetation alters soil structure, impacts carbon and nutrient cycling, and mediates water fluxes in ecosystems across the U.S. She utilizes methods and experimental approaches from plant ecophysiology, hydrology and soil science to explore how vegetation influences Critical Zone functions in the context of changing climate and land-use/land-cover.