Sybil G Gotsch

Sybil G Gotsch is an Associate Professor at the University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. Her research integrates ecohydrology, plant physiology, and ecosystem ecology to study plant community water relations and climate change impacts.

• Education: PhD in Ecology and Evolution (Stony Brook University, 2006), B.A. in Biological Sciences (Mount Holyoke College, 1997), and Rainforest Ecology training (School for Field Studies, 1996).
• Research Focus: Investigates drought responses in Tropical Montane Cloud Forests and Appalachian forests, linking physiological mechanisms to hydrologic cycles.
• Grants: Leads NSF-funded projects (2021–2024, 2020–2024) and a seed grant (2021) on climate change, epiphyte ecology, and urban stormwater management.
• Labs/Teams: Heads the Forest Ecophysiology Lab with collaborators at Wake Forest University, University of Utah, UC-Berkeley, and Georgia Southern University.

Recent recognition includes a Science Ambassador title (2024) and a PNAS Front Matter feature (2024). The lab actively recruits students and has published in Oecologia and American Journal of Botany (2022), with ongoing work in tropical and temperate forest ecohydrology.