Travis Huxman

About

Travis E. Huxman is a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on understanding the evolution of functional traits in plants and the impacts of climate change on ecosystems. He investigates physiological processes in plants from the cellular level to landscapes, with recent emphasis on the dynamics of climate-ecosystem interactions and their influence on the coupling of carbon and water cycles in arid landscapes, which encompass approximately 40% of Earth's surface. His work explores how these processes operate across diverse biomes globally, contributing to the broader understanding of ecohydrology, desert biology, and global change biology.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Environmental science
• Biology
• Climatology
• Atmospheric sciences
• Botany
• Geography
• Geology
• Physics
• Agronomy

Selected publications

• Traversing the Wasteland: A Framework for Assessing Ecological Threats to Drylands

  BioScience · 2019-10-01 · 135 citations

  article

  Abstract Drylands cover 41% of the Earth's terrestrial surface, play a critical role in global ecosystem function, and are home to over two billion people. Like other biomes, drylands face increasing pressure from global change, but many of these ecosystems are close to tipping points, which, if crossed, can lead to abrupt transitions and persistent degraded states. Their limited but variable precipitation, low soil fertility, and low productivity have given rise to a perception that drylands ar…

  PublisherDOI

• Empirical evidence for resilience of tropical forest photosynthesis in a warmer world

  Nature Plants · 2020 · 128 citations

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Seasonal and drought‐related changes in leaf area profiles depend on height and light environment in an Amazon forest

  New Phytologist · 2019-02-05 · 114 citations

  articleOpen access

  Seasonal dynamics in the vertical distribution of leaf area index (LAI) may impact the seasonality of forest productivity in Amazonian forests. However, until recently, fine-scale observations critical to revealing ecological mechanisms underlying these changes have been lacking. To investigate fine-scale variation in leaf area with seasonality and drought we conducted monthly ground-based LiDAR surveys over 4 yr at an Amazon forest site. We analysed temporal changes in vertically structured LAI…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Biological invasions and climate change amplify each other’s effects on dryland degradation

  Global Change Biology · 2021 · 59 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Climate models predict that, in the coming decades, many arid regions will experience increasingly hot conditions and will be affected more frequently by drought. These regions are also experiencing rapid vegetation change, notably invasion by exotic grasses. Invasive grasses spread rapidly into native desert ecosystems due, in particular, to interannual variability in precipitation and periodic fires. The resultant destruction of non-fire-adapted native shrub and grass communities and of the in…

  PublisherDOI

• Cryptic phenology in plants: Case studies, implications, and recommendations

  Global Change Biology · 2019-07-25 · 48 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Plant phenology-the timing of cyclic or recurrent biological events in plants-offers insight into the ecology, evolution, and seasonality of plant-mediated ecosystem processes. Traditionally studied phenologies are readily apparent, such as flowering events, germination timing, and season-initiating budbreak. However, a broad range of phenologies that are fundamental to the ecology and evolution of plants, and to global biogeochemical cycles and climate change predictions, have been neglected be…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Sensitivity of Ecosystem Processes to Precipitation Across a Grassland to Shrubland Vegetation Transition in the Southwestern U.S.

  NSF · $418k · 2004–2008

• Collaborative Research: Vulnerability of Semi-arid Grasslands to Encroachment by Woody Plants: the Role of Grass Invasions, Seasonal Precipitation, and Soil Type

  NSF · $143k · 2004–2007

Frequent coauthors

• Russell L. Scott

  Southwest Watershed Research Center

  75 shared

• G. Barron-Gafford

  52 shared

• David D. Breshears

  University of Arizona

  40 shared

• P. A. Troch

  University of Arizona

  34 shared

• S. R. Saleska

  University of Arizona

  27 shared

• Alfredo Huete

  University of Technology Sydney

  26 shared

• Stanley D. Smith

  University of Nevada, Las Vegas

  26 shared

• Sarah Kimball

  University of California, Irvine

  25 shared

Labs

• Huxman LabPI

Awards & honors

• 2004 Distinguished Alumnus, California State University, San…
• 2000 UNLV Foundation Dissertation Research Excellence Award,…
• 1998 Best Student Poster Award, Ecological Society of Americ…
• 1997 Forrest Shreve Award for Desert Research, Ecological So…

Similar researchers at University of California, Irvine

• Armin Schweglerh-26
• Scott Bollensh-21
• Alka Patelh-17