Current appointment
Assistant Professor of Global Change Ecology & Invasive Species Collaborative Affiliate
Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Virginia Tech, 232 Cheatham Hall, Blacksburg, VA 23060
FREC: https://frec.vt.edu/
Research interests
To understand how vegetative ecosystems will shift in response to climate change and human encroachment, it is imperative to reconcile the individual measurable physiological performances of plants with demographic responses. I am passionate about how diverse plant physiological and demographic strategies steer the competitive behavior and invasiveness of distinct plant species and growth forms, leading to species exclusion and/or coexistence in a changing environment.
Recently printed
We may have found the world’s largest known liana—a massive climbing plant measuring 866 mm in diameter—in an African forest. Check out our freshly printed global study highlights record-breaking “Champion” lianas from six continents!
Budding researchers
My search for a motivated MSc student starting Fall 2026 has been concluded. My colleague Jacob Barney and I are looking forward to welcome the new Hokie and prospective MSc student Catherine Dell'Olio to Virginia Tech!
Congratulations to Britt Everdepoel on submitting her MSc thesis as part of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems! For her thesis, titled "Demography and Tropical Forest Carbon Dynamics: A Ten-Year Recensus at Paracou, French Guiana," Britt traveled to French Guiana to recensus forest plots that I helped establish in 2015. As one of her supervisors, it was particularly rewarding to see these long-term monitoring efforts come full circle and to collaborate on exploring whether lianas in Paracou are following the widely reported pantropical trend of increasing abundance.
Seminar at my alma mater Ghent University, Belgium
I’m excited to announce that I’ll be giving an invited Seminar at Q-Forest Lab at Ghent University, hosted by my PhD mentor Hans Verbeeck on June 23th. I’ll be discussing recent work and insights on liana-tree competition and liana proliferation trends in the tropical rainforest. Looking forward to reconnecting with researchers and students—hope to see you there!
