Kristine Averill
Cornell University

As a plant community ecologist, my research interests broadly lie in understanding the impacts of abiotic, biotic, and geographic constraints on plant assemblages in natural and agricultural settings.

I am interested in proximate and ultimate factors that form novel plant assemblages, which often comprise both native and introduced plants. In the face of current homogocene era conditions, including rapidly changing climatic conditions and landscape structure, widely distributed anthropogenic pollutants and redistributed resources, and altered animal and microbial dynamics, I am interested in the concurrent alterations taking place in plant communities. Additionally, I am interested in understanding the mechanisms and outcomes of weedy and invasive plant assembly into native plant communities.