As sessile organisms, terrestrial plants must acclimate or adapt to environmental variation throughout their life span, and those challenges are increasing with global climate change. We study plant responses to climate change in temperate, boreal, arctic-alpine, and desert ecosystems. Much of my work is focused on the winter ecophysiology of trees, mainly north temperate and boreal conifers, including frost tolerance, acclimation and injury, and the trade-offs between maintaining metabolic activity, including photosynthesis, versus dormancy and frost tolerance.

We have explored the role of carbohydrates and dehydrin proteins to extreme frost tolerance in boreal conifers. More recently we have engaged in studies on the contribution of plant functional groups to net ecosystem gas exchange in arctic-alpine ecosystems, trait-environment relationships in aspen, and temperature effects on rehydration and recovery in Sonoran desert Selaginella taxa.