Dr. Nichole Barger, Director Dryland ecosystems make up 40% of the global land surface and support one-sixth of world’s population. Over the past several decades, there has been widespread recognition that increasing human population pressures and land use intensification across dryland ecosystems has resulted in extensive degradation or “desertification” of these regions. As an aridlands ecologist, my research mission is to better understand the impacts of changing climate and land use on plant communities and soil resources in dryland ecosystems; this research crosses the boundaries of community, ecosystem, and landscape ecology.