Christine Sheppard

Christine Sheppard is a Professor at the Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology, University of Hohenheim. Her research focuses on plant invasions, eco-evolutionary dynamics, and biotic interactions under global change. She leads projects like 'Nov-Nat' investigating long-term invasion dynamics and co-occurring invader interactions.

Her research examines how alien plant species establish and spread in novel environments, considering factors like residence time, functional traits, and climate responses. Current work analyzes competitive hierarchies between native and invasive plants, transgenerational epigenetic effects of environmental exposures, and synergistic effects of multiple global change drivers.

Publications demonstrate consistent themes: temporal dynamics of invasions, functional trade-offs limiting alien fitness, and meta-analyses of invasion success factors. Recent articles emphasize experimental approaches linking trait evolution with invasion success over time.

She contributes to large-scale collaborations including the TRY plant trait database and develops statistical methods for ecological data analysis.