Kristina Young

Assistant Professor

kristina.young@wisc.edu

608-265-5817

Birge Hall

Lab Page

Research

Ecology

Google Scholar

My research focuses on understanding how global change, including increasing aridity, shifting precipitation patterns, and intensified land use, affects soil microbes, biological soil crusts, and vascular plant communities, particularly in dryland ecosystems. I am interested in how ecological transitions influence ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling and soil stability. The goal of my research is to translate mechanistic understandings of ecological change into practical restoration strategies and sustainable land-management solutions.

People take measurements in a dry field site. — Conducting field work in the lichen fields of Namibia.

A close up image of dry, red brown and grey soil with a crumbling appearance, reminiscent of coral reefs. — Biological soil crust (biocrust) sometimes called the coral reef of the desert.

Education

PhD, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Texas El Paso 2020

MS, Forestry, Northern Arizona University, 2015

BA, Biology, University of Montana, 2010