Jeff Diez

Jeff Diez is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Oregon's College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on understanding mechanisms of species coexistence, plant invasions, and climate change ecology. He leads the Diez Ecology Lab, which investigates ecological dynamics at multiple scales, from soil microbial communities to large-scale plant distributions. Key themes include phenology shifts, plant-soil feedbacks, and the impacts of global change on biodiversity.

Dr. Diez's work integrates field experiments, large-scale datasets, and modeling to address questions about how species interactions, environmental gradients, and human activities shape ecological communities. He has secured grants including the NSF CAREER Award for studying climate-competition interactions in plant phenology and coexistence.

His research has produced over 50 peer-reviewed articles, with recent emphasis on invasive species impacts, fungal community responses to temperature, and the legacy effects of shrub expansion. He collaborates extensively across disciplines and institutions, leveraging pan-European fungal datasets and national ecological observatory networks.

Awarded grants include 'CAREER: Climate and competition interact to determine species' phenology and coexistence' (2019) and 'DIGGING DEEPER – HOW SOIL BIOTA DRIVE AND RESPOND TO PLANT INVASIONS' (2016). His lab's work is accessible via their dedicated website: https://blogs.uoregon.edu/diez/.