Bradley Christoffersen, Ph.D.

Education

• PhD, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 2013
• MS, Atmospheric Sciences, 2012
• BS, Environmental Studies, 2003

Areas of Expertise

• Plant ecophysiology and water relations
• Ecohydrology
• Plant hydraulics modeling
• Tropical forest ecosystem ecology
• Dynamic vegetation modeling

Research

We are a team of graduate and undergraduate students based out of the Edinburg campus. In the Christoffersen Lab, we study how water structures ecosystems, both above and below-ground. Our emphasis is on mature and regenerating forests in the Tamaulipan biotic province and in tropical forests. We also work in agroecosystems, examining the impacts of conservation practices such as cover cropping on water cycling and drought stress.

​We combine plant ecophysiology and plant hydraulics, modeling, and regular surveys of vegetation demography to understanding the impact of water availability and plant trait variation on community and ecosystem processes.

Recent Publications

lab members are in bold; **graduate student; *undergraduate student; ϯcorresponding author

Albrecht C**, Contreras Z**, Wahl-Villareal K, Sternberg M, Christoffersen BOϯ. 2022. Winners and losers in dryland reforestation: species survival along a 33-year planting chronosequence. Restoration Ecology 30: e13559. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13559 Part of Cross-Society Special Feature on the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

Arias M**, Mendez S*, Chavana J*, Wahl K, Kariyat K, Christoffersen BOϯ. 2021. Do early-successional weeds facilitate or compete with seedlings in forest restoration? Disentangling abiotic vs. biotic factors. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 2(3): e12095. https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12095 Part of Cross-Society Special Feature on the Decade of Ecosystem Restoration

Mohsin F**, Arias M**, Albrecht C**, Wahl K, Fierro A, Christoffersen BOϯ. 2021. Species-specific responses to restoration interventions in a Tamaulipan thornforest. Forest Ecology and Management 491:119-154.

Konings A, incl. Christoffersen BO and 34 coauthors. 2021. Detecting forest response to droughts with global observations of vegetation water content. Global Change Biology 27(23), 6005-6024. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15872 

Kasper S*ϯ, Christoffersen BOϯ, Soti P, Racelis A. 2019. Abiotic and biotic limitations to nodulation by leguminous cover crops in South Texas. Agriculture 9(10): 209.

Grossiord CΓ, Christoffersen BOΓ, Alonso-Rodríguez AM, Anderson-Teixeira K, Asbjornsen H, Aparecido LMT, Carter Berry Z, Baraloto C, Bonal D, Borrego I, et al. 2019. Precipitation mediates sap flux sensitivity to evaporative demand in the neotropics. Oecologia 191(3): 519-530. Γ - equal contribution

Mencuccini M, Manzoni S, Christoffersen B. 2019. Modelling water fluxes in plants: from tissues to biosphere. New Phytologist 222(3): 1207-1222.