Evan Siemann

About

Evan Siemann is the Harry C. & Olga K. Wiess Professor of BioSciences at Rice University. His research group investigates how local environmental factors such as enemies, resources, disturbance regimes, and recruitment limitations interact with post-invasion adaptation to influence the likelihood and severity of Chinese Tallow Tree (Sapium sebiferum) invasions into East Texas coastal prairie, mesic forests, and floodplain forests. Additionally, his work examines the ecosystem-level impacts of exotic tree invasions into coastal prairies. A primary focus of his current research is the role of post-introduction evolutionary changes in Chinese Tallow Tree invasions. His research areas include population and community ecology, forests, grasslands, plant ecology, insect ecology, chemical ecology, plant/herbivore interactions, wetlands, freshwater ecology, invasive species, biodiversity, conservation, algal biology, biofuels, and wastewater remediation.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Biology
• Botany
• Materials science
• Environmental chemistry
• Waste management
• Pulp and paper industry
• Chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Environmental science

Selected publications

• Increasing flavonoid concentrations in root exudates enhance associations between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and an invasive plant

  The ISME Journal · 2021 · 222 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Many invasive plants have enhanced mutualistic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal associations, however, mechanisms underlying differences in AM fungal associations between introduced and native populations of invasive plants have not been explored. Here we test the hypothesis that variation in root exudate chemicals in invasive populations affects AM fungal colonization and then impacts plant performance. We examined flavonoids (quercetin and quercitrin) in root exudates of native and introduce…

  DOI

• Root flavonoids are related to enhanced AMF colonization of an invasive tree

  AoB Plants · 2020 · 75 citations

  ) to examine the relationships among AMF colonization and secondary metabolites in roots of plants from introduced (USA) and native (China) populations. We found that AMF colonization rate was higher in introduced populations compared to native populations. Roots of plants from introduced populations had lower levels of phenolics and tannins, but higher levels of flavonoids than those of plants from native populations. Flavonoids were positively correlated with AMF colonization, and this relatio…

  DOI

• Feedstock particle size and pyrolysis temperature regulate effects of biochar on soil nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions

  Waste Management · 2020 · 63 citations

  DOI

• Plant Invasion Increases Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon: Meta‐Analysis and Empirical Tests

  Global Change Biology · 2025-03-01 · 12 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a vital component of the global carbon cycle. SOC influences soil fertility and structure and is controlled by various factors, including land use, land management practices, and climate change. Biological invasion is a significant yet controversial factor that can alter SOC levels. We conducted a meta-analysis of 445 observations from 61 published reports and followed up with field surveys to clarify the impact of plant invasion on SOC. Our results indicated that pl…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Changes in Soil Microbiome Mediated by Root Volatiles Enhanced Manganese Tolerance of an Invasive Plant Species

  Plant Cell & Environment · 2025-05-27 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Many invasive plants exhibit high heavy metal tolerance, but the roles of root-associated soil microbiomes in this process remain poorly understood. Heavy metal stress can alter the release of plant volatile organic compounds (VOCs), potentially influencing plant-soil feedbacks. This study utilised an aggressive invasive plant species Phytolacca americana as a study model, to assess the effects of different levels of soil manganese (Mn) stress on the emissions of root VOCs, and their subsequent…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Does Lack of Herbivory and Disease Explain the Success of an Alien Plant Species?: Experimental Tests

  NSF · $308k · 2000–2004

• Do Genetic Differences in Growth and Defense Contribute to the Success of an Invasive Plant Species? Experimental Tests

  NSF · $398k · 2003–2007

• DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Predicting Restoration Outcomes In Exotic-Invaded Ecosystems

  NSF · $15k · 2009–2012

Frequent coauthors

• Wei Huang

  Wuhan Botanical Garden

  77 shared

• Jianqing Ding

  Henan University

  73 shared

• William E. Rogers

  San Diego State University

  42 shared

• Juli Carrillo

  University of British Columbia

  37 shared

• Jianwen Zou

  The Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials

  32 shared

• Ling Zhang

  South China Agricultural University

  25 shared

• David Tilman

  University of Minnesota

  25 shared

• Mark E. Ritchie

  Syracuse University

  25 shared

Labs

• Population and Community Ecology LabPI

  Population and Community Ecology Lab Group at Rice

Similar researchers at Rice University

• Erez Lieberman Aidenh-91
• Bonnie Bartelh-76
• Daniel Carsonh-56