Erika Marín-Spiotta
- Assistant Professor of Geography
Education
- Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
- B.S. Stanford University
Research Interests
- Land-use/land-cover & climatic change effects on biogeochemistry & biodiversity
- Mechanisms of soil organic matter stabilization
- Hydrologic controls on carbon & nutrient transport
- Nutrient cycling in terrestrial ecosystems
- New species assemblages effects on ecosystem structure & function
- Restoration of ecosystem goods & services
- Human drivers of land-use/land-cover change
My research integrates field and lab experimental work across different scales, from landscape-level effects of changes in land use on species composition and carbon pools, to molecular changes in organic matter chemistry. I use stable and radioisotopes, spectroscopic, and analytical techniques to quantify process rates, identify sources and sinks, and better understand underlying mechanisms controlling stabilization and losses of organic matter and elements within and across ecosystems.
For more information on my research go to lab website.
If you are interested in joining my research group, please send me an e-mail describing your research interests, past experience, and your CV.
Email: marinspiotta[AT] wisc.edu
Courses
To be taught academic year 2009 - 2010:
- Geog 120: Global Physical Environments (Fall 2009)
- Geog 338: Biogeography: An Ecosystems Approach (NEW Spring 2010)
This course will take an ecosystems approach to understand how physical (climate, geology, soils…) and biological (competition, dispersal, migration…) factors affect the distribution of terrestrial biomes, ecosystem types, and biodiversity. Attention will be focused on the relative importance of these factors at different spatial scales: global, regional, landscape, and at the level of communities. Importance will be given to the role of disturbance, and in particular to recent anthropogenic climatic and land-use changes as well as biological invasions, on differences in pre-historical and present day species distribution.