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Research Interests
Restoration of tropical forests and soils; tropical forestry; mycorrhizal fungi;
plant-animal interactions; territoriality of nectar-feeding birds.
During the first 20 years of my academic career I was interested in how interactions at
the individual level affect ecological phenomena at the population and community
levels. This interest led me to study foraging behavior and competition in nectar
feeding birds throughout the world (publications 1974-1994).
In the early 1990s my concern for the destruction of tropical forests and biodiversity
changed my research career (interview). I became committed to studying the restoration
of native trees, soils, and biodiversity on deforested, eroded tropical sites.
Along with a group of tropical biologists specializing in tropical forestry and agroecology,
I began my first field experiment on property I purchased for a permanent field site in Costa Rica.
Our approach is three-fold. First, we seek species of native trees that can grow in these degraded soils.
Second, we test hypotheses about jump-starting succession using facilitator species such as nitrogen-fixing legume trees. Third, we are investigating the role of soil
biology as well as soil chemistry in regeneration of degraded land. Specifically,
we are testing ideas about species-specificity of mycorrhizal symbioses and the
importance of soil phosphorus and aluminum. I currently have two graduate students,
Riley Pratt and Kristin Young.
Dr. Lynn Carpenter has been in her current position of full professor since 1985.
Her prior academic positions are as follows:
1985 - 1987 : Associate Professor, Oregon State University
1978 - 1984 : Associate Professor, University of California - Irvine
1972 - 1978 : Assistant Professor, University of California - Irvine
Education
- See CV
- 1972 : Ph.D., Zoology, University of California - Berkeley
- 1966: B.A., Zoology, University of California - Riverside
Honors and Awards
- Phi Beta Kappa
- Fellow of the AAAS
- Fellow of the American Ornithological Union
Current Graduate Students
Recent Courses Taught
- Tropical Biology
- Diversity of Life
- Undergraduate Ecology core
- Graduate Ecology core
- Freshman seminar in Tropical Biology
- Undergraduate research in tropical biology, with a field component in Costa Rica
Links
- publications 1974-1994--a list of my early papers on nectar-feeding birds
- interview--interview by The Rensselaerville Institute in 1996
- deforested, eroded tropical sites--photos illustrating tropical deforestation and our study site
- first field experiment--Design, rationale, and early results
- native trees--design, rationale and early results of our tree assays
- facilitator species--experiments testing the positive effect of legume trees on growth of other species
- mycorrhizal symbioses--fungal structures and diversity at our study site
- Riley Pratt
- Kristin Young
- Recent publications: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
- Three-dimensional animated view of the topography of our first field experiment, "Blocks '93"
- Animated view of 8 years of tree growth in the first field experiment, "Blocks '93"
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Recent Publications
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Nichols, J.D., M.E. Rosemeyer, F.L. Carpenter, and J. Kettler. 2001. Intercropping
legume trees with native timber trees rapidly restores cover to eroded tropical
pasture without fertilization. Forest Ecology and Management 152: 195-209.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/papers/Intercropping.pdf
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Carpenter, F.L., S. Palacios, E. Gonzalez, and M. Schroeder. 2001. Land use and
erosion of a Costa Rican Ultisol affect soil chemistry, mycorrhizal fungi and early
regeneration. Forest Ecology and Management 144: 1-17.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/papers/Land.pdf
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Carpenter, F.L. and J.D. Nichols. 2003. Variable success of native trees planted on
degraded pasture in Costa Rica. Proceedings of Forestry Research Institute of Malaysia.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/papers/Variable.pdf
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Carpenter, F.L., J.D. Nichols, and E. Sandi. 2004.
Early growth of native and exotic trees planted on degraded tropical pasture.
Forest Ecology and Management 196: 367-378.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/papers/PUB_NO_4.pdf
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Carpenter, F.L., J.D. Nichols, R.T. Pratt, and K.C. Young. 2004.
Methods of facilitating reforestation of tropical degraded land with the native timber tree, Terminalia amazonia.
Forest Ecology and Management. Abstract available online 15 September 2004; publication due in December 2004: vol. 202: 281-291.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/papers/TerminaliaAmazonia.pdf
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Carpenter, F.L., S.A. Soeller, and C. May-Tobin. 2004.
Three-dimensional animated view of the topography of a large scale field experiment.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/CR_farm1.html
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Carpenter, F.L. and S.A. Soeller. 2004.
Animated view of eight years of tree growth in a large scale field experiment.
http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~flcarpen/CR_farm2.html
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[ Recent Abstracts ]
[ Prior Publications ]
[ Funding ]
[ Interview ]
[ Rainforest ]
[ Blocks '93 Experiment ]
[ Mycorrhizal Fungi ]
[ Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ]
[ University of California - Irvine ]
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