MARK G. TJOELKER

Associate Professor
Ecosystem Science and Management

Department of Ecosystem Science and Management
Texas A&M University
TAMU 2138
College Station, TX 77843-2138
Office: Horticulture/Forest Science Bldg. (map)
Phone: 979.845.8279
E-mail: m-tjoelker@tamu.edu
Department Web page

Keywords: Plant physiological ecology, forest ecosystem ecology, global change ecology, biogeography and genetic variation in trees, physiological acclimation and adaptation to the environment

Interests:
Research in forest ecology involves a range of scales from individual leaves to trees to stands to landscapes. Given the complexity of ecosystem structure and function, forest ecology is multidisciplinary, including approaches in genetics, plant physiology, population biology, soil science, biogeochemistry, and modeling.

As a physiological ecologist, my research explores plant function in response to the environment. I test physiological models of carbon and water exchange and how these processes underlie plant growth and scale from leaf to ecosystem. I explore underlying trade-offs in physiological and morphological traits among tree species and populations. My approach to research questions is experimental and comparative and uses both controlled-environment and field-based studies.

My current research addresses plant response to global environmental change. Several current projects include: 1) Tree-grass interactions in southern oak savanna under altered precipitation and climate warming, 2) Linking leaf and root traits to plant function and ecosystem processes, and 3) Acclimation and adaptation of respiration to temperature.

Selected publications:

Tjoelker MG, J Oleksyn, PB Reich, R Zytkowiak. 2008. Coupling of respiration, nitrogen, and sugars underlies convergent temperature acclimation in Pinus banksiana across wide-ranging sites and populations. Global Change Biology 14: 782-797.

Chmura DJ, MG Tjoelker. 2008. Leaf traits in relation to crown development, light interception, and growth of elite families of loblolly and slash pine. Tree Physiology 28: 729-742.

Tjoelker, MG, X Zhou. 2007. The many faces of climate warming. New Phytologist 176, 739-742.

Savva Y, B. Denneler, A. Koubaa, F. Tremblay, Y. Bergeron, M.G. Tjoelker. 2007. Seed transfer and climate change effects on radial growth of jack pine populations in a common garden in Petawawa, Ontario, Canada. Forest Ecology and Management 242, 636-647.

Reich, PB, MG Tjoelker, J-L Machado, J Oleksyn. 2006. Universal scaling of respiratory metabolism, size and nitrogen in plants. Nature 439, 457-461.

Tjoelker, MG, JM Craine, DA Wedin, PB Reich, DG Tilman. 2005. Linking leaf and root trait syndromes among 39 grassland and savannah species. New Phytologist 167, 493-508.

Wright, IJ PB Reich, M Westoby, DD Ackerly, Z Baruch, F Bongers, J Cavender-Bares, T Chapin, JHC Cornelissen, M Diemer, J Flexas, E Garnier, PK Groom, J Gulias, K Hikosaka, BB Lamont, T Lee, W Lee, C Lusk, JJ Midgley, M-L Navas, Niinemets, J Oleksyn, N Osada, H Poorter, P Poot, L Prior, VI Pyankov, C Roumet, SC Thomas, MG, EJ Veneklaas, R Villar. 2004. The world-wide leaf economics spectrum. Nature 428, 821-827.

Atkin OK, MG Tjoelker 2003. Thermal acclimation and the dynamic response of plant respiration to temperature. Trends in Plant Science 8, 343-351.