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Phone: (612) 625-5700
Fax: (612) 624-6777
Email: wiggins@umn.edu

University of Minnesota
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
100 Ecology Building
1987 Upper Buford Circle
St. Paul, MN 55108

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Jennifer S. Powers

Assistant Professor, Depts. of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Plant Biology and Soil, Water & Climate
Resident Fellow, Institute on the Environment(IonE)

Ph.D., Duke University, 2001

Contact Information

Phone: 612-625-5721
Fax: 612-624-6777
E-mail: powers@umn.edu

Graduate Faculty Memberships

Research Interests

terrestrial biogeochemistry, ecosystem processes, microbial ecology, tropical ecology and landscape ecology

Statement

I use experimental and observational approaches to investigate and biogeochemical and ecosystem processes across local, regional, and global scales. In particular, my research focuses on understanding:

• the patterns of carbon and nitrogen dynamics in forest ecosystems,
• the effects of anthropogenic environmental changes including land-cover change, global warming and nitrogen deposition on element cycling processes,
• the feedbacks among soil fertility, plant processes and microbial communities, and,
• how individual plant and microbial species influence element cycling processes.

My research interests are diverse, but they are linked by the common theme of understanding the relationships among ecological processes, the patterns they generate, and the effects of anthropogenic environmental changes across a range of spatial and temporal scales. I use a diverse set of tools including microbiological techniques, soil chemistry, stable isotope analysis, remote sensing, geostatistics, and geographic information systems (GIS) to extrapolate from fine to coarse spatial scales and to connect ecological processes to patterns. The bulk of my field work is in tropical ecosystems.

Selected Publications

Powers, J.S., J.M. Becknell, J. Irving, and D. Perez-Aviles. 2009. Diversity and structure of regenerating tropical dry forests in Costa Rica: environmental drivers and geographic patterns. In press. Forest Ecology and Management.

Powers, J.S., R.A. Montgomery, E.C. Adair, F.Q. Brearley, S.J. DeWalt, C.T. Castanho, J. Chave, E. Deinert, J.U. Ganzhorn, M.E. Gilbert, J. Antonio-Gonzalez, S. Bunyavejchewin, H.R. Grau, K.E. Harms, A. Hiremath, S. Iriarte-Vivar, E. Manzane, A.A. de Oliveira, L. Poorter, J.B. Ramanamanjato, C. Salk, A.Varela, G.D. Weiblen and M.T. Lerdau. Decomposition in tropical forests: a pan-tropical study of the effects of litter type, litter placement and mesofaunal exclusion across a precipitation gradient. 2009. Journal of Ecology 97: 801-811.

Powers, J.S., and E. Veldkamp. 2005. Regional variation in soil carbon and delta13C in paired forests and pasture of Northeastern Costa Rica. Biogeochemistry 72: 315-336.

Powers, J.S. 2004. Soil carbon and nitrogen storage following contrasting land-use transitions in Northeastern Costa Rica. Ecosystems 7: 134-146.

Powers, J.S. 2004. New perspectives in comparative ecology of Neotropical rain forests: Reflections on past, present and future. Biotropica 36: 2-6.

Additional Links

Research Web Site

My CV