Mehring Lab
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About
Students in my lab study the effects of plants, animals and microbes on carbon, nutrient and heavy metal cycling in natural and urban ecosystems (i.e., biogeochemistry and zoogeochemistry). Our research spans multiple scales – from microscopic/organismal to whole ecosystems – and addresses the use of nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change, stormwater runoff, and flooding; the impacts of ecosystem restoration and disturbances (e.g., fires, droughts) on biogeochemical cycling in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems; and the effects of urbanization on soil invertebrate communities, heavy metal pollution, and greenhouse gas fluxes.
Key Research Areas
- Ecosystem ecology
- Carbon cycling, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas emissions
- Biogeochemistry / Zoogeochemistry
- Nutrient cycling
- Heavy metals
- Urban ecology
- Limnology (streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs)
- Nature-based solutions for climate change, stormwater management, and flood prevention
- Fire impacts on ecosystem functions
- Aquatic and soil-dwelling invertebrates
Team
Andrew Mehring, lead PI
- Mark Tierney, PhD candidate
- Nathan Earl, PhD candidate
- Joshua Snipes, non-thesis MS student
- McKenzie Goodwyn, undergraduate student researcher
Our Work
- Optimization of wetlands for greenhouse gas uptake and carbon storage
- Stormwater biofilters as sensors of heavy metal pollution
- Fausey, K., M.A. Rippy, G. Pierce, D. Feldman, B. Winfrey, A.S. Mehring, L.A. Levin, P.A. Holden, P.A. Bowler, R.F. Ambrose. (2024) Ecosystem service values support conservation and sustainable land development: Perspectives from four University of California campuses. Ecological Engineering 208: 107379.
- Naslund, L.C., A.S. Mehring, A.D. Rosemond, S.J. Wenger. (2024) Toward more accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions from small reservoirs. Limnology and Oceanography 69(6): 1350-1364.
- Kurylo, J.S., J. Le, A.S. Mehring, R.F. Ambrose. (2024) Management dampens seasonal variability in soil microclimates and alters its chemical and physical properties in a semi-arid region. Journal of Urban Ecology 10(1): juae001.
- Robbins, C.J., B.C. Norman, H.M. Halvorson, D.W.P. Manning, E. Bastias, C. Biasi, A.K. Dodd, R.A. Eckert, A. Gossiaux, J. Jabiol, A.S. Mehring, A. Pastor. (2023) Nutrient and stoichiometric time series measurements of decomposing coarse detritus in freshwaters. Ecology 104(8): e4114.
- Robbins, C.J., D.W.P. Manning, H.M. Halvorson, B.C. Norman, R.A. Eckert, A. Pastor, A.K. Dodd, J. Jabiol, E. Bastias, A. Gossiaux, A.S. Mehring. (2023) Nutrient and stoichiometry dynamics of decomposing litter in stream ecosystems: A global synthesis. Ecology 104(7): e4060.
- Feraud, M., S.P. Ahern, E.A. Parker, S. Avasarala, M.B. Rugh, W. Hung, D. Li, L.C. Van De Werfhorst, T. Kefela, A. Hemati, A.S. Mehring, Y. Cao, J.A. Jay, H. Liu, S.B. Grant, P.A. Holden. (2023) Stormwater biofilter response to high nitrogen loading under transient flow conditions: ammonium and nitrate fates, and N2O emissions. Water Research 119501.
- Rippy, M.A., G. Pierce, D. Feldman, B.K. Winfrey, A.S. Mehring, P.A. Holden, R.F. Ambrose & L.A. Levin. (2022) Perceived services and disservices of natural treatment systems for urban stormwater: insight from the next generation of designers. People and Nature 4: 481-504.
- Mehring, A.S., R.M. Martin, C.S. Delavaux, E.B. James, J.J. Quispe, & D. Yaffar. (2021) Leaf-cutting ant (Atta cephalotes) nests may be hotspots of methane and carbon dioxide emissions in tropical forests. Pedobiologia 87-88: 150754
- Herzog, T.L., A.S. Mehring, B.E. Hatt, R.F. Ambrose, L.A. Levin & B.K. Winfrey. (2021) Pruning stormwater biofilter vegetation influences water quality improvement differently in Carex appressa and Ficinia nodosa. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 59: (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2021.127004)
- Pierce, G., K.S. Gmoser-Daskalakis, K. Jessup, S.B. Grant, A.S. Mehring, B.K.Winfrey, M.A. Rippy, D. Feldman, P. Holden, R.F. Ambrose, & L.A. Levin. (2021) University stormwater management within urban environmental regulatory regimes: Barriers to progressivity or opportunities to innovate? Environmental Management 67: 12-25.