Dissertation Research: Morphology and plant-soil feedbacks in foggy environments

Plants are often thought to exist passively within their environment, but research suggests that plants can change the availability of soil water and nutrients, which in turn affect plant growth. This study will address the interaction of plants with a widely available but rarely considered source of water and nutrients: fog. Fog is different from rain in that fog droplets must be intercepted from the air if they are to drip to the ground, where roots can take up the moisture. The amount of water collected thus depends on the shape of the vegetation present. By combining computer modeling with experimentation, this researcher will determine how plant shape can influence the amount of water collected, and use this information to simulate the effects of fog-water collection by vegetation in landscapes. In field experiments in Chile and Peru, artificial plant shapes will be established in a natural desert setting to create fog 'oases,' in which nearly all water for plant growth comes from fog. This funding will allow for monitoring of soil moisture below three types of shapes: natural plants; plants with modified shape; and artificial structures. These data will provide tests of theoretical predictions regarding relationships between plant shape and moisture collection.

A better understanding of the interactions between vegetation, fog, and water availability will inform biodiversity conservation efforts and watershed management in the face of climate change. This researcher engages in several international collaborations involving teaching at the undergraduate level and outreach to land-use managers.