Research Interests

Research in the Silva group integrates concepts and analytical tools from terrestrial ecology, plant physiology, and biogeochemistry to address emerging issues in environmental sustainability.  Specifically, we seek a quantitative understanding of soil-plant-atmosphere (SPA) interactions as a means to determine the impact of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems and to mitigate human-induced alterations of carbon, water, and nutrient cycles. Our integrative approach blends chemical characterization and isotopic measurements of natural environmental archives (e.g. tree rings, soils, and speleothems), lab- and field-based experiments, and statistical models used to scale SPA-mediated processes from molecules to landscapes.

Selected Publications

Silva et al. (2016) Tree growth acceleration and expansion of alpine forests: The synergistic effect of atmospheric and edaphic change. Science Advances 2 (8), e1501302

Silva et al. (2015) Isotopic and nutritional evidence for species- and site-specific responses to N deposition and elevated CO2 in temperate forests. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 120 (6), 1110–1123

Silva et al. (2015) Iron-mediated stabilization of soil carbon amplifies the benefits of ecological restoration in degraded lands. Ecological Applications 25 (5), 1226–1234

Silva (2015) From air to land: understanding water resources through plant-based multidisciplinary research. Trends in Plant Sciences 20 (7), 399–401

Silva (2014) Importance of climate-driven forest–savanna biome shifts in anthropological and ecological research. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111 (37), E3831–E3832

Silva & Anand (2013) Probing for the influence of atmospheric CO2 and climate change on forest ecosystems across biomes 22 (1), 83–92

Teaching

Ecological Biogeochemistry

Global Environmental Change

Interdisciplinary Climate Change Research