William Hoffmann

Area(s) of Expertise

My research examines mechanisms by which climate change drives rapid shifts in terrestrial ecosystems, with particular interest in the roles of drought and fire. This work involves studies to understand of the physiological response of plants to fire and drought and to understand the consequences of these responses for population and vegetation dynamics. I also study vegetation-fire feedbacks that govern the distribution of savanna and forest biomes and their responses to climate. My work is based in North Carolina and Brazil and utilizes a range of approaches, including experimental and comparative field work as well as computer modeling.