Plant Ecology

Two of the most pressing challenges facing ecologists are forecasting the spread of non-native species and predicting the response of native species to global climate change. To tackle these challenges, research in our group aims to decipher the ecological and evolutionary forces that shape plant species’ distributions and community structure. In particular, we combine field experiments with ecological modelling to study how altered biotic interactions influence species’ range dynamics under changing climate. We also study global patterns and processes in plant invasions along elevation gradients to better understand the dynamics and impacts of biological invasions.

• Plant population and community responses to climate change
• Ecology and evolution of plant invasions
• Adaptation/rapid evolution along environmental gradients

• ORCID, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2226-7913
• Compensatory responses of vital rates attenuate impacts of competition on population growth and promote coexistence
  S Lyu, JM Alexander
  Ecology Letters 26 (3), 437-447. 2023
• Rapid upwards spread of non-native plants in mountains across continents
  E Iseli, C Chisholm, J Lenoir, S Haider, T Seipel, A Barros, AL Hargreaves, ...
  Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1-9. 2023
• Competition contributes to both warm and cool range edges
  Lyu, Shengman; Alexander, Jake M.
  Nature Communications 10.1038/s41467-022-30013-3  MAY 6 2022
• …

• Merging experimental ecology and ecological modelling
• Research at ecology-evolutionary interface
• Co-chair of the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN), www.mountaininvasions.org