معرفی
Laura Aldrich-Wolfe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University (NDSU). She holds an office in Stevens Hall 318 and her research focuses on mycorrhizal ecology, rhizosphere dynamics, and ecosystem restoration in tropical and temperate ecosystems. Her work bridges fundamental ecological questions with applied agroecological solutions, particularly in coffee agroecosystems and prairie restoration.
Key research areas include the roles of mycorrhizal fungi in plant community composition, the impact of land management practices (e.g., organic vs. conventional farming) on belowground microbial communities, and the restoration of tropical forests and grasslands. Her lab explores how soil microbial interactions influence plant competition and resilience under changing environmental conditions.
Dr. Aldrich-Wolfe has published extensively on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) dynamics, including studies on functional diversity in coffee root communities, nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems, and the legacy of grazing history on native prairies. She has secured National Science Foundation (NSF) funding for projects like the CAREER grant investigating coffee agroecology and fungal biodiversity.
Her research has been featured in journals such as Mycorrhiza, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and Global Change Biology. She collaborates internationally, including in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, to address tropical ecosystem challenges. Dr. Aldrich-Wolfe actively engages in STEM education initiatives, integrating fieldwork and microbial ecology into teaching.
