Human-caused pollution is increasing nutrient loads to forest communities worldwide. How these nutrient loads affect individual plants and their communities is the focus of this work, which will be undertaken in two distinct habitats, fern patches of northeastern forests and the canopy of tropical wet forests. The understories of northeastern forests are often dominated by fern patches that prevent seed germination of hardwood tree species such as oaks and maples. In this study, fern patches will be fertilized to determine if increased nutrients will affect their growth rates, reducing the presence of hardwood seedlings and potentially reducing forest diversity. The rainforest canopy is well known for its high diversity of plants, but it also is poor in nutrients. In the laboratory, many species of epiphytes, plants that live on other plants, will be fertilized to determine how individual species respond to additional nutrients. Both of these studies approach a unified goal: to better understand, and thus predict, how human-caused changes in nutrient regimes impact forest plant communities and diversity. This work will support the early professional career of a newly hired female faculty member at a primarily undergraduate institution. The study will serve as a foundation for involving undergraduate students in hands-on research at Colgate University, and includes the establishment of permanent field study plots that will serve as long-term research sites for faculty and students.
