My research aims to couple Earth-system processes within the critical zone to improve our understanding of ecosystem function, land-atmosphere exchange, and ecosystem response to shifts in climate.

 
I examine both biotic and abiotic processes of the critical zone in context of human-induced disturbance, including ecosystem alteration due to climate change. My projects employ hydrologic modeling and stable isotope tracers, coupled with experimental lab and field manipulations. My research also explores questions related to Hydropedology and the co-evolution of landscapes and ecosystems. The primary focus of my research has been on dryland systems, both in pristine and highly disturbed or engineered urban and agricultural settings. Drylands are typically limited or co-limited by water and nutrient availability. This makes dryland soils model systems for studying the impacts of shifting hydroclimate and changes in nutrient cycling due to anthropogenic nutrient inputs.