My research interests revolve around how resource availability controls patterns of species composition and productivity. I am particularly interested in these factors because they are important determinants of ecosystem structure and function, and they are strongly influenced by management and global change.

My current research sites are in tropical wet forests in Hawai`i and Puerto Rico. In Puerto I am involved in a large project to address how soil carbon (C) is stored during the process of secondary succession after pasture abandonment and if this storage can be justified as a mitigation of anthropogenic C emissions to the atmosphere. We are examining litter inputs and decomposition, the C retention capacity of the soil, and the decomposition of soil organic matter (SOM) along a long-term (> 80 yr) pasture-to-forest chronosequence.

In Hawai`i, I collaborating with a group of people to examine both the structure and function of lowland wet forests, a very rare ecosystem in Hawai`i. We are examining the structural differences among remnant patches that differ in degree of invasion, substrate, and elevation. We are also conducting removal experiments at one site to examine the influence of exotic species on water interception, water use, and forest growth.

Other research projects currently underway include: 1) productivity, nutrient use, and growth of the entire plant community in nitrogen versus phosphorus limited systems; and 2) traits and resource use of highly successful invasive species. I am examining these questions in a variety of ecosystems on the island of Hawai`i, including plantations, wet forest, dry forest, subalpine forest, and alpine scrub.