Faculty & Staff
Tara K. Rajaniemi
University of Michigan, 2001 PhD
Assistant Professor
Research Interests:
My research investigates the mechanisms that determine species diversity in plant communities. I am especially interested in explaining patterns of species diversity along environmental gradients. My work has included experimental approaches to separate the effects of aboveground and belowground competition on diversity in an old field and analytical approaches to tease apart the effects of species pools, long-term and short-term abiotic conditions, and species interactions on diversity in Israeli sand-dune communities. I am also interested in the strategies plants use to compete for patchy soil resources.
Recent Publications:
Rajaniemi, T. K., and H. L. Reynolds. (2004) Root foraging for patchy resources in eight herbaceous species. Oecologia 141:519-525.
Rajaniemi, T.K., Allison, V.J., and Goldberg, D.E. (2003) Root competition can cause a decline in diversity with increased productivity. Journal of Ecology 91:407-416.
Rajaniemi, T.K. (2003) Evidence for size asymmetry of belowground competition. Basic and Applied Ecology 4:239-247.
Rajaniemi, T.K. (2003) Explaining productivity-diversity relationships in plants. Oikos 101:449-457
Courses Taught:
Topics in Biology-- Ecology (BIO 103)
Biology of Populations Laboratory (BIO 211)
Plant Biology (BIO 350)
Introduction to Biological Statistics (BIO 430/530)
