Forests

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

– John Muir

For more than a century, scientists have been captivated by the incredible diversity of tropical forests, intrigued by the ecological and evolutionary processes that allow so many plant species to coexist. From the nutrient cycling mechanisms that sustain towering canopies to the intricate feedbacks between plants, soil microbes, and herbivores, these ecosystems are among the most dynamic and complex on Earth.

I am driven by the idea that the stability of tropical forests arises not from equilibrium but from constant flux. Processes like the decomposition of roots, phosphorus cycling driven by redox transformations, and the interplay between pathogens, mutualists, and plant defenses create a system in perpetual motion. My work explores these feedbacks and interactions, drawing insights from studies on fungal-mediated plant-soil feedbacks (Delavaux et al., 2024, Ecology), the role of microbial controls in nutrient cycling (Li et al., 2023, ISME J), and plant-ant interactions as mediators of density dependence (Zhou et al., 2024, Science of the Total Environment). These studies illustrate how diversity is not passively maintained but actively shaped by processes of competition, decay, and adaptation.

Understanding these mechanisms is essential as global environmental change threatens to destabilize tropical ecosystems. By studying the turnover and resilience of these forests, I aim to identify strategies to preserve their diversity and function, ensuring that these critical ecosystems continue to thrive in an uncertain future.

Publications:

Zhou, G., Qin, Y., Petticord, D.F., Qiao, X., Jiang, M. “Plant-ant Interactions Mediate Herbivore-induced Conspecific Negative Density Dependence in a Subtropical Forest.” Science of The Total Environment, 927, 2024, 172163. Link
Li, J., Liu, Z.F., Jin, M.K., … Petticord, D.F., et al. “Microbial Controls over Soil Priming Effects under Chronic Nitrogen and Phosphorus Additions in Subtropical Forests.” The Nature ISME J 17, 2160–2168 (2023). Link
Xu, X., van der Sleen, P., Groenendijk, P., Vlam, M., Medvigy, D., Moorcroft, P., Petticord, D.F., Ma, Y., Zuidema, P.A. (2023). “Constraining Long-term Model Predictions for Woody Growth Using Tropical Tree Rings.” Global Change Biology, 30, e17075. Link
Delavaux, C.S., Angst, J.K., Espinosa, H., Brown, M., Petticord, D.F., Schroeder, J.W., Broders, K., Herre, E.A., Bever, J.D., Crowther, T.W. (2024). “Fungal Community Dissimilarity Predicts Plant–Soil Feedback Strength in a Lowland Tropical Forest.” Ecology, 105(1): e4200. Link
Schroeder, J.W., Dobson, A., Mangan, S.A., Petticord, D.F., Herre, E.A. “Mutualist and Pathogen Traits Interact to Affect Plant Community Structure in a Spatially Explicit Model.” Nature Communications., 11, 2204 (2020). Link
Hsu, G.C., Slimon, K., Petticord, D.F., Sparks, J. “Neighboring Plant Species Influences Prey Capture by a Carnivorous Plant via the Density-Size Relationship.”In Review, Oikos
Zhou, G., Petticord, D.F., Qin, Y., Qiao, X., Jiang, M. “Evidence for the Plant Apparency and Janzen Connell Hypotheses in a Subtropical Forest.” In Review at Ecology Letters
*Petticord, D.F.* & *Bass, E.* “Latitudinal patterns in redox-dependent phosphorus chemistry may underlie the strength of plant-microbe interactions” In Preparation for Biological Reviews