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email:  rundel@biology.ucla.edu
phone:  (310) 825-4072
office:  WH 23-160
lab:  

research interests:  Adaptations of plants to environmental stress, focusing on mediterranean, desert, and tropical ecosystems; applications of environmental sensor arrays for ecological research

Research Interests

Our laboratory maintains a breadth of interests centering on aspects of vascular plant adaptation to environmental water and nutrient stress. Within this context we have focused particularly on the interactions of physiological water stress and nutrient availability in limiting net primary production of arid zone plants. We are looking intensively at the relationship of seasonal changes in morphological, architectural and physiological components of plant form and function in woody desert legumes and evergreen shrubs. Our approaches in these investigations involve analysis of components of tissue water relations, photosynthetic capacity, foliar nutrient levels, leaf morphology and canopy architecture. We are very interested in applications of stable isotope ratios to ecological research studies as a means of developing integrated measurements of physiological response to environmental stress. Such measures will help us link physiological process studies to an ecosystem perspective. In addition to our work on desert ecosystems, my laboratory group maintains interests in several other areas. These include the physiological ecology of plant species in Mediterranean-type and tropical ecosystems, parallel with our desert research. We are also investigating the impact of air pollutants on photosynthetic capacity and productivity of coniferous forest trees in California.

Selected Publications

Rundel, P.W., R. Gustafson. 2005. An Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California: Coast to Foothills University of California Press 1-300 .

Franco, A.C., M. Bustamante, L.S. Caldas, G. Goldstein, F.C. Meinzer, A.R. Kozovits, P.W. Rundel and V.T.R. Coradin. 2005. Leaf functional traits of neotropical savanna trees in relation to seasonal water deficit Trees 19: 326-335 .

Keeley, J.E. and P.W. Rundel. 2005. Fire and the Miocene expansion of C4 grasslands Ecology Letters S: 683-690 .

Cowling, R.F., R. Ojeda, B.B. Lamont, P.W. Rundel and R. Lechmere-Oertel. 2005. Rainfall reliability, a neglected factor in explaining convergence and divergence of plant traits in fire-prone Mediterranean-climate ecosystems Global Ecoloty and Biogeography 14: 509-519 .

Rundel, P.W., A.C. Gibson and M.R. Sharifi. 2005. Plant fuctional groups in alpine fellfield habitats of the White Mountains, California Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research 37: 358-365 .

Mills, A.J., R.M. Cowling, M.V. Fey, G.H. Kerley, J.S. Donaldson, R.G. Lechemere-Oertel, A.M. Sigwela, A.L. Skowno and P.W. Rundel. 2005. Effects of goat pastoralism on ecosystem carbon storage in semi-arid thicket, Eastern Cape, South Africa Austral Ecology 30: 797-804 .

Gibson, A.C., M.R. Sharifi and P.W. Rundel. 2004. Resprout characteristics of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) when subjected to repeated vehicle damage Journal of Arid Environments 57: 411-429 .

Rundel, P.W. and D.M. Richardson. 2004. Pines Encyclopedia of Forest Science. ElsevierOxford .

Cooley, A.J., A. Reich and P.W. Rundel. 2004. Biomechanics of Neotropical understory herbs American Journal of Botany 91: 573-581 .

Coffman, G.C., R.F. Ambrose and P.W. Rundel. 2004. Invasion of Arundo donax in river ecosystems of mediterranean climates: impacts and management strategies Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems. MillpressRotterdam .