Matt Dannenberg

Matt Dannenberg is an Associate Professor at the University of Iowa, specializing in global change ecology, climate-ecosystem interactions, and terrestrial carbon/water cycle dynamics. His research integrates remote sensing, dendrochronology, and empirical modeling to understand ecological responses to climate variability across regional to global scales.

• Geographic focus on western U.S. drylands and southeastern U.S. forests
• Methods include satellite remote sensing, tree-ring analysis, and neural network modeling
• Key climate drivers: El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), vapor pressure deficit (VPD), precipitation patterns

His work examines:

• Climate forecasting of ecological processes
• Land cover change impacts on carbon exchange
• Drought resilience in forest ecosystems
• Atmospheric teleconnection effects on phenology

He leads the Ecoclimatology of Carbon and Water (ECH₂O) lab, developing tools for monitoring ecosystem responses to environmental change through land-atmosphere flux modeling and multi-sensor remote sensing.