Plant Ecophysiology and Ecosystem Modeling

I am interested in understanding, describing, and developing mathematical models for plant-soil processes at leaf and plant-soil scales under present and environmental change conditions. I combine empirical data with models to address major questions concerning the local, regional, and global dynamics of the land systems' carbon, water, and energy cycles. I developed the Leaf Utilization for Nitrogen Assimilation (LUNA) model ('a semi-mechanistic model') that predicts the photosynthetic capacity (i.e. Vcmax25 and Jmax25) of plant species at the global scale. LUNA has been implemented in an open-access land surface model, the Community Land Model (CLM5). Recently, I implemented rubber trees as a semi-deciduous plant functional type in CLM5.

Current Position

2023 - Present:   Agricultural Systems Researcher,  AgResearch Ltd, Lincoln Research Centre, Lincoln, New Zealand.

2017 - Present:   Research Associate, Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Current Research Focus

Currently, I am looking at how pastures grow on farms and trying to understand water bacteria dynamics.