Valerie Eviner

Education: 

• Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; Integrative Biology, 2001
  B.A.,Rutgers College, Rutgers UniversityñNew Brunswick; Biology, 1994

Research interests and expertise: 

Using a mechanistic understanding of plant-soil, plant-plant, plant-microbe, and plant-animal interactions to increase our understanding and effective management of: ecosystem services, plant invasions, restoration, plant community composition, biogeochemical cycling, global change, grazing systems, ecosystem response to wildfire, and resilience of ecosystem structure and function.

Current projects: 

• Controls over the impacts of wildfire and post-wildfire recovery in lower elevation California ecosystems.
• The role of seed production and seedling thinning in plant nutrient supply and growth, and the regulation of ecosystem functions. USDA AFRI Managed Ecosystems
• How California grassland community composition and ecosystem functions are affected by the interaction of precipitation change, nitrogen deposition, invasion, native plant restoration, and grazing management. USDA AFRI Weedy and Invasive Species in Agroecosystems, Kearney
• Plant species effects on plant-soil feedbacks to influence restoration success and prevalence of plant invaders, Kearney Foundation
• Managing for plant composition and multiple ecosystem services in California's grasslands, oak woodlands, and riparian areas. ANR Competitive Grants.
• The influence of soil conditions on the effectiveness of restoration practices in wetlands and riparian areas. USFS, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Current teaching: 

• Ecosystem Ecology; PLS 163 (winter quarter)
• Restoration Ecology; ENH 160 (spring quarter)
• Restoration Ecology Lab; ENH 160L (spring quarter)
• First-Year Seminar: Strategies for Success in Learning, FRS 003 (most quarters)

Outreach and Extension:

Most of the lab's research is in collaboration with a diversity of land managers, based on the premise that we can simultaneously address cutting-edge conceptual questions and applied issues. We are particularly involved in invasive species control, conservation and restoration of native and rare species, and management for ecosystem services (e.g., control over erosion, water quality, soil fertility, carbon sequestration, water storage and flow). Our integrative research and outreach projects focus on:

• What are the most effective ways to reliably manage for target plant communities, and/or multiple ecosystem services?
• How do these management strategies change over space, time, and shifting environmental conditions?

Outreach is focused on improving management in grasslands, oak woodlands, riparian areas and wetlands. Collaborators in research and outreach projects include California Native Grasslands Association, California Climate and Agriculture Network, California Invasive Plant Council, East Bay Parks, Sacramento County Parks, San Francisco Public Utility Commission, and UC Cooperative Extension. Eviner also works with various state agencies to provide scientific syntheses to guide policy (e.g., California Climate Scoping Plan).

In addition to ecological research, Eviner is leading a research project on the most effective ways to link science, policy and management, through the Ecological Society of Americaís Science Committee.

Eviner is also an outings leader for Sierra Club's Inspiring Connections Outdoors, working with K-12 at-risk youth.

External activities that contribute to scholarship:

• Associate Editor, Ecosystems
• California Climate and Agriculture Network, Science and Technical Advisory Board member
• Point Blue Conservation Science- Scientific Advisory Committee
• Ecological Society of America, Science Committee
• UC Davis Public Service Committee
• UC Davis Public Scholarship and Engagement Faculty Engagement Advisory Committee
• UC Davis Graduate Group in Ecology, Restoration AOE Advisor and Chair

Prizes, Awards, Honors:

• Fellow, Earth Leadership Program 2021
• Fellow, AAAS 2020
• Fellow, Community Engaged Learning Faculty Fellow Program, UC Davis 2020
• Fellow, Public Scholarship Program, UC Davis 2020
• Fellow, Ecological Society of America, 2015
• Urban Youth Outreach Award, Sierra Club, 2015
• California Climate and Agriculture Network Science Leadership Award, 2013
• Honor Society of Agriculture, Gamma Sigma Delta, 2011
• Outstanding Mentor Award, UC Davis Consortium for Women and Research, 2009
• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), 2008

Google Scholar

ORCID

Keywords:

• Plant-soil feedbacks
• Ecosystem services, ecosystem processes
• Plant community ecology
• Global change ecology
• Restoration ecology
• Ecosystem management
• Rangeland ecology
• Plant-plant, plant-microbial, plant-animal interactions
• Context-dependence of ecological processes