Laura Schreeg
PhD: University of Florida, Interdisciplinary Ecology
certificate in Tropical Conservation and Development
National Park Service - marsh restoration
Peace Corps Ecuador
Teaching forest ecology
A collaboration with artist Sue Norton-Scott on her piece about phosphorus sustainability:
Mack lab in Costa Rica
STRI canopy crane
Turner lab in Panama
Tropical Forestry course - Brazil
Seedling transplant experiment with the Kobe and Walters labs - Michigan
Other experience
Before starting my dissertation I worked on agroforestry projects and with women’s groups in the Andes of Ecuador. I’ve also spent time with the National Park Service on a marsh restoration project and I’ve worked with the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Harvard Forest. My MS is from Michigan State University in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior, and I have a BS in Chemistry from Saint Mary’s College.
Links
Mack Lab - University of Florida
Turner Lab - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Publications
Schreeg LA, Mack MC, Turner BL (in review) Optimizing a method for water extraction of leaf litter nutrients.
Schreeg LA, Mack MC, Turner BL. (2013) Leaf litter inputs decrease phosphate sorption in a strongly weathered tropical soil over two time scales. Biogeochemistry 113:507-524
Online first link: http://www.springerlink.com/content/f02382h506u34g3j/?MUD=MP pdf
Schreeg LA, Mack MC, Turner BL. (2013) Nutrient-specific solubility patterns of leaf litter across 41 lowland tropical woody species. Ecology 94:94-105
Research Interests: biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology, plant-soil-microbe interactions
Porder lab in Puerto Rico
Current position and contact info
Postdoctoral researcher with Stephen Porder (Brown University) and Zoe Cardon (Marine Biological Laboratory)
Laura_Schreeg at brown dot edu
Porder lab - Brown University
Cardon lab - Marine Biological Laboratory
Catching leaves at Harvard Forest
Research
I am a biogeochemist and am specifically interested in understanding the interactions among the phosphorus, carbon and nitrogen cycles in tropical systems.
My current work focuses on two topics 1) understanding nutrient limitation to root growth in tropical forests and 2) investigating the role of low molecular weight organic acids in phosphorus cycling.
My dissertation research focused on the recycling of nutrients through leaf litter. Leaf litter, or senesced leaves, are thought to be a key source of nutrients for maintaining tree growth, and therefore important in carbon cycling. In addition to being a source of recycled nutrients, litter can also change soil chemistry and thereby alter plant nutrient availability. I focused on two main questions: 1) What role does leaching, or the water extraction of nutrients, play in litter decomposition? and 2) Do litter inputs modify soil chemistry to promote phosphorus cycling?
Imaging soil oxygen with the Cardon lab
Thank you for visiting my site!
Schreeg LA, Kress WJ, Erickson DL, Swenson NG (2010) Phylogenetic analysis of local-scale tree soil associations in a lowland moist tropical forest. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13685. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013685
Schreeg LA, Kobe RK, Walters MB (2005) Tree seedling growth, survival and morphology in response to landscape level variation in soil resource availability in northern Michigan. Can. J. For. Res. 35:263-273
