About
Assistant Professor
Department of Biology
University of Louisville
Dr. Mehring’s research interests related to environmental health science include the management of urban heavy metal pollution, and the redesign of urban and peri-urban environments to enhance net carbon storage and improve human health and ecosystem integrity. More specifically, Dr. Mehring studies the impacts of heavy metal pollution on soil invertebrate community structure, how human activity and land use alter the movement and accumulation of heavy metals in urban and non-urban ecosystems, and the roles of animal and plant communities in altering the flux of heavy metals. This includes the use of natural treatment systems (i.e., biofilters and swales, rain gardens, constructed wetlands) to intercept and trap heavy metals. Dr. Mehring’s investigations of carbon sequestration center on the use of trees and wetlands to store atmospheric carbon, which provides numerous co-benefits for the mental and physical wellbeing of human communities.
Research keywords: heavy metal; greenhouse gas; nature-based solution; urban; stormwater; carbon sequestration