Pamela Templer

Faculty Research Fellow
Professor of Biology
ptempler@bu.edu
617-353-6978

Education

PhD, Cornell University

Biography

I am broadly interested in ecosystem ecology and the influence that plant-microbial interactions have on nutrient cycling, retention and loss. I am particularly interested in the effects that human activities, such as fossil fuel combustion, introduction of non-native plant species, land use change and climate change, have on forest ecosystems. We currently examine a variety of nitrogen sources, including rain, fog, and anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. We explore how plant-microbial interactions influence nitrogen and carbon retention and loss within natural and managed ecosystems.

We currently work in temperate forests of the northeastern United States, redwood forests of California, and tropical forests of Puerto Rico and Mexico. We focus on three research themes: (1) the effects of winter climate change on forest biogeochemistry and carbon exchange; (2) controls on nitrogen retention and loss in temperate and tropical forest ecosystems, and (3) effects of land-use change and forest regeneration on nutrient cycling.