Sarah Emery
Associate Professor of Biology
"While the future can appear bleak, scientists who work to understand the consequences of climate change for all life on our planet may help us develop ways to adapt"
See Prof. Emery's faculty profile
Our climate has changed and will continue to change due to human activities, which means increased summer temperatures, droughts, and storms through much of the United States, and even more drastic impacts elsewhere. This has consequences not just for humans, but for all life on Earth.
As an ecologist I am particularly interested in the factors regulating biodiversity on our planet, and a changing climate will result in both winner and loser species, with cascading consequences for human health and comfort. For example, poison ivy is predicted to increase in abundance and toxicity as CO2 levels continue to rise, while Kentucky’s state tree the tulip poplar is predicted to suffer due to increased drought.
With my own research, I attempt to understand how interactions between species, especially between plants and fungi, could help us adapt to a changed climate. One of my current projects funded by the USDA looks at how fungi living in the soil could benefit perennial biofuel crops during droughts. I also study fungi living inside of plants in coastal dune ecosystems, which are particularly sensitive to climate change and can serve as the “canary in the coal mine” for the threats of sea level rise and increased storms.
While the future can appear bleak when thinking about our society’s inability to stop climate change, scientists who work to understand the consequences of climate change for all life on our planet may help us develop ways to adapt.
