H. Jochen Schenk,  Assistant Professor (Ph.D., University of Santa Barbara, California)

 

Contact Information:

 

Dr. H. Jochen Schenk

Department of Biological Science

P.O. Box 6850

California State University Fullerton

Fullerton, CA 92834-6850

phone: (714) 278-3678

fax:      (714) 278-3426

E-mail: jschenk@fullerton.edu

Lap pages: http://biology.fullerton.edu/jschenk/

 


Courses taught

 

Field Botany, Plant Ecology, Evolutionary Ecology, Prcinciples of Physiology and Ecology, Professional Aspects of Biology

Research interests

 

My research interests are mainly in plant ecology, specifically the ecology of roots, plant water relations, and desert plant ecology.  One of the guiding questions of research in my lab is:  How does structure and function of plants below ground relate to plant structure and function above ground?  Our current research in this area explores the pathways of water transport from roots to stems of woody plants, comparing the hydraulic systems of shrub species from different climates (deserts to forests) in North and South America.  Other current research addresses relationships between aboveground vegetation structure, climate, and rooting depths, as well as root competition, and the ecology and taxonomy of the halophytic plant genus Suaeda (Chenopodiaceae).

 

Selected publications  (click here for more publications, abstracts, and full text)

Schenk, H. J.  2006.  Essay Review: Root competition: beyond resource depletion. Journal of Ecology 94: In press.

Schenk, H. J., and R. B. Jackson.  2005. Mapping the global distribution of deep roots in relation to climate and soil characteristics.  Geoderma 126:129-140.

Schenk, H. J.  2005.  Vertical vegetation structure below ground: Scaling from root to globe.  Progress in Botany 66:341-373.

Casper, B. B., H. J. Schenk, and R. B. Jackson 2003.  Defining a plant's belowground zone of influence. Ecology 84(9):2313-2321.

Schenk, H. J., C. Holzapfel, J. G. Hamilton, & B. E. Mahall 2003.  Spatial ecology of a small desert shrub on adjacent geological substrates.  Journal of Ecology 91:383-395.

Ferren, W. R., Jr., and H. J. Schenk.  2003.  Suaeda . pp. 390-398 in Flora of North America Editorial Committee, editors.  Flora of North America, Volume 4. Oxford University Press, New York.

Schenk, H. J., & B. E. Mahall 2002.  Positive and negative interactions contribute to a north-south-patterned association between two desert shrub species.  Oecologia 132:402-410.

Schenk, H. J. & R. B. Jackson. 2002.  The global biogeography of roots. Ecological Monographs 72:311-328.

Schenk, H. J. & R. B. Jackson 2002.  Rooting depths, lateral root spreads, and belowground/aboveground allometries of plants in water limited ecosystems.  Journal of Ecology 90:480-494.

 

Students

 

Current graduate students:

 

Nicole Vearrier:  Project:  The potential invasiveness of the non-native plant species Suaeda linifolia
           in the Great Basin Desert

Susana Espino: Project:  Effects of soil water heterogeneity on water relations of two co-occurring desert shrubs,
                                  Encelia farinosa and Ambrosia dumosa (Asteraceae)

 

Current undergraduate students:


Christine Chidester
Daisha Ortega
Jeremy Smith

 

Past students:


Christine Goedhart:  Does water availability affect pathways of water transport in the shrub 
                                      Eriogonum fasciculatum?  (Senior Thesis)

Andrea Vona:             Effects of soil preparation treatments on the restoration of native perennial grasslands
                                     (Master's Project in Environmental Studies)
Joy Polston Barnes: Sensitive plant species resouirce management in Orange County
                                     (Master's Project in Environmental Studies)
Jason LeDonne:       Self-inhibition in soybean roots

Current research projects   (click here)