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Personal Information
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Sam St. Clair Plant & Wildlife Sciences Email: stclair@byu.edu 293 WIDB Assistant Professor
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| Education |
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| Research |
Plants, soil microbes and their below ground interactions are important controllers of the carbon, nutrient and water cycles that are key determinants of terrestrial ecosystems function. In my research I seek to understand: (1) the physiological mechanisms underlying plant-environment interactions particularly in the context of resource acquisition and utilization and (2) how these interactions alter forest, grassland and desert ecosystems. My research examines plant responses to environmental factors at four scales of biological function . The first level tracks carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus metabolism through primary and secondary metabolic pathways to understand how plants sense and respond to changes in their environment. We use a high throughput assay system for determining enzyme activities and metabolite pools that are key metabolic control points. A second level of analysis seeks to identify physiological and morphological plant traits that confer fitness in resource limited environments. The third scale of analysis examines ecosystem level responses as influenced by plant physiological function, shifts in species composition and biogeochemical feedbacks. Finally, remote sensing and GIS tools are used to characterize changes in plant and community function and composition over large geographical areas. Aspen research: In western North America, aspen communities support higher biodiversity and generate significantly greater water yields than conifers. However, in recent years aspen are being displaced by conifers. Experiments are being conducted that examine how conifer establishment in aspen communities is influenced by fire suppression, herbivory and climatic factors. We are also characterizing adaptive functional traits in aspen that confer fitness to drought and cold stress. Eastern forest maple research: In the last 100 years the range and abundance of red maple has expanded significantly in forest of eastern North America while the range and abundance of sugar maple has declined. Studies examine the factors (soil acidification, ozone, drought, UV light) and physiological traits that contribute to the differential success of these two closely related species. Annual grassland climate change research: Annual grasslands are model ecosystems for understanding how plant ecosystems respond to climate change. Our research in California annual grasslands, examines how variation in the timing and magnitude of soil moisture, affects plant-microbe interactions and ecosystem level processes. Desert research: We have initiated long-term studies in Utah and Nevada to understand how precipitation, nitrogen deposition, exotic annual grass invasion and changing fire frequency and intensity are affecting the fragile desert ecosystems of western North America |
| Selected Publications |
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Articles St.Clair SB, Sharpe WE and Lynch JP. "Key interactions between nutrient limitation and climatic factors in temperate forests: a synthesis of the sugar maple literature." Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 38 (2008): 401-414. Thayer SS, St.Clair SB, Somerville SC, Field CB. "Accentuation of phosphorus limitation by nitrogen deposition in Geranium dissectum: an ecological genomics study." Global Change Biology. 14 (2008): 1877-1890. St. Clair SB and Lynch, JP. "The differential success of sugar maple and red maple seedlings on acid soils is influenced by nutrient dynamics and light environment. In Adjustment of photosynthetic processes of plants and cells to light environment, Ed. Tom Sharkey." Plant, Cell and Environment. 30.Virtual Issue (2007). St.Clair LL, Johansen JR, St.Clair SB & Knight KB. "The influence of grazing and abiotic factors on vascular plant and lichen community structure along an alpine tundra ridge in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA." Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research. 39 (2007): 603-613. Wullschleger SD, Leakey ADB & St.Clair SB. "Functional genomics and ecology: a tale of two scales." New Phytologist. 176 (2007): 735-739. St.Clair SB, Carlson JE, Lynch JP. "Evidence for oxidative stress in sugar maple stands on acidic, nutrient imbalanced forest soils." Oecologia. 145 (2005): 258-269. St.Clair SB & Lynch JP. "The differential success of sugar maple and red maple seedlings on acid soils is influenced by nutrient dynamics and light environment." Plant, Cell & Environment. 28 (2005): 874-885. St.Clair SB & Lynch JP. "Base cation stimulation of mycorrhization and photosynthesis of sugar maple on acid soils are coupled by foliar nutrient dynamics." New Phytologist. 165 (2005): 581-590. St.Clair SB & Lynch JP. "Element accumulation patterns of deciduous and evergreen tree seedlings on acid soils and its implications for sensitivity to manganese toxicity." Tree Physiology. 25 (2005): 85-92. St.Clair SB & Lynch JP. "Photosynthetic and antioxidant enzyme responses of sugar maple and red maple to excess manganese in contrasting light environments." Functional Plant Biology. 31 (2004): 1005-1014. Lynch JP & St.Clair SB. "Mineral stress: the missing link in understanding how global climate change will affect plants in real world soils." Field Crops Research. 90 (2004): 101-115. St.Clair SB, Sharpe WE & Lynch JP. "Excess manganese reduces chlorophyll in sugar maple leaves." Maple Syrup Digest. 15 (2003): 28-31. St.Clair SB, St.Clair LL, Mangelson NF & Weber DJ. "Influence of growth form on the accumulation of airborne copper by lichens." Atmospheric Environment. 36 (2002): 5637-5644. St.Clair SB, St.Clair LL, Mangelson NF, Weber DJ & Eggett DL. "Element accumulation patterns in foliose and fruticose lichens from rock and bark substrates in Arizona." Bryologist. 105 (2002): 415-421. Books St.Clair SB, Cooper LS, Stewart LJ, Newberry CC, St.Clair LL. "The lichen flora of Stony Pass, an alpine tundra site in southwestern Colorado." Lichenographia Thomsoniana: North American Lichenology. Ed. Glenn M, Cole M, Dirig R, Harris. Aug. 1998. |
| Experience |
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Professional
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| Courses Taught |
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PAS 494R
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Mentored Learning Experience
PWS 100 : Living with Plants PWS 540R : Topics in Plant Physiology PWS 494R : Environmental Science Lab PWS 494R : Mentored Learning Experience PWS 799R : Doctoral Dissertation PWS 440 : Plant Physiology PWS 699R : Master's Thesis |
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