Expert Source: Laurel J. Anderson, Ph.D.

Laurel Anderson specializes in plant physiological ecology, which is the study of how biological processes affect species interactions, community patterns, ecosystem cycles, and global changes. She has published research on topics such as plant responses to past and predicted future changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and has been involved in the design of the National Ecological Observatory Network, a continental program to monitor and predict environmental change. Her current research involves the physiological and community ecology of garlic mustard, an invasive plant recognized as one of the 10 worst in Ohio.

Education:

• B.A., Colby College
• Ph.D., University of Colorado

Areas of Expertise:

• Global warming
• Plant ecology
• Invasive plants
• Root biology

Selected Publications:

• Anderson, Laurel J., et al. “An Ontology for Landscapes.” Ecological Complexity. 5 (2008):         272-279.
• Gill, R.A., L.J. Anderson, H.W. Polley, H.B. Johnson, and R.B. Jackson. 2006. Potential nitrogen constraints on carbon sequestration in a grassland exposed to subambient and elevated atmospheric CO2. Ecology 87: 41-52.
• Anderson, L.J., H. Maherali, H.B. Johnson, H.W. Polley and R.B. Jackson.2001. Gas exchange and photosynthetic acclimation over subambient to elevated CO2 in a C3-C4 grassland. Global Change Biology 7(6): 693-707.
• Anderson, L.J., M.S. Brumbaugh and R.B. Jackson.2001. Water and tree-understory interactions: a natural experiment in a savanna with oak wilt. Ecology 82(1): 33-49.