Rachel Gallery
Website: http://rachelgallery.arizona.edu
Plant-microorganism interactions and feedbacks are important but cryptic components of how ecosystems function and respond to change. Microorganisms play a significant role in structuring plant communities through positive and negative interactions, and the diversity of soil microbiota controls the processes governing biogeochemical cycling in soils. As we consider the threat of species loss and how plant communities will continue to shift under rapidly altered temperature and precipitation regimes, understanding these feedbacks emerges as a critical focus for plant community ecology, ecosystem science, and conservation ecology. My research uses a combination of ecological experiments, microbiological techniques, and contemporary genetic tools to develop hypotheses to (1) test the effects of plant-microorganism interactions on plant community structure, (2) understand how environmental shifts will alter these interactions, in order to (3) make predictions about the subsequent impact on ecosystem function.
