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Areas of Expertise

My broad areas of expertise include ecology, microbiology, and soil science.  My research focuses on the critical roles of soil-plant-microbe interactions in shaping plant communities, ecosystem processes, and soil carbon dynamics.

For further information, see the .

Courses Taught

• General Microbiology
• Soil Biology
• Community and Ecosystem Ecology
• Population and Community Ecology

Selected publications

Complete list available on my .

Droz, A., R.R. Coffman, C.B. Blackwood. 2021. Plant diversity on green roofs in the wild: Testing practitioner and ecological predictions in three midwestern (USA) cities. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening 60:127079.

Ruggles, TA, JA Gerrath, CT Ruhm, AJ Jefferson, CA Davis, CB Blackwood. 2021. Surface mines show little progress towards native species forest restoration following 35 years of passive management after initial reclamation. Land Degradation and Development 32:2351-2359.

Eagar, A.C., C.R. Cosgrove, M.W. Kershner, C.B. Blackwood. 2020. Dominant community mycorrhizal types influence local spatial structure between adult and juvenile temperate forest tree communities. Functional Ecology 34:2571-2583.

Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., H. Maherali, C. Baraloto, C.B. Blackwood. 2020. Independent evolutionary changes in fine-root traits among main clades during the diversification of seed plants. New Phytologist 228:541-553.

Mason, L.M., A. Eagar, P. Patel, C.B. Blackwood, J.L. DeForest. 2020. Potential microbial bioindicators of phosphorus mining in a temperate deciduous forest. Journal of Applied Microbiology 130:109-122.

Ayayee, P.A., J. Taura, A.A. Roberto, C.B. Blackwood, L.G. Leff. 2020. Seasonal and spatial patterns of denitrification rates and methane emissions from vernal pools in a temperate northeastern Ohio forest. Wetlands 40:721-731.

Minerovic, A.J., O.J. Valverde-Barrantes, C.B. Blackwood. 2018. Importance of physical and microbial mechanisms of decomposition vary by root order in two temperate tree species with differing chemical and morphological traits. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 124:142-149.

Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., K.A. Smemo, L.M. Feinstein, M.W. Kershner, C.B. Blackwood. 2018. Patterns in spatial distribution and root trait syndromes for ecto and arbuscular mycorrhizal temperate trees in a mixed broadleaf forest. Oecologia 186:731–741.

Valverde-Barrantes, OJ, GT Freschet, C Roumet, C.B. Blackwood. 2017. A worldview of root traits: the influence of ancestry, growth form, climate and mycorrhizal association on the functional trait variation of fine root tissues in seed plants. New Phytologist 215: 1562–1573.

Horton, D.J., M.W. Kershner, C.B. Blackwood. 2017. Suitability of PCR primers for characterizing invertebrate communities from soil and leaf litter targeting metazoan 18S ribosomal or cytochrome oxidase I (COI) genes. European Journal of Soil Biology 80:43-48.

Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., A.L. Horning, K.A. Smemo, C.B. Blackwood. 2016. Phylogenetically structured traits in root systems influence arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization in woody angiosperms. Plant and Soil 404:1-12.

Gacura, M.D., D.D. Sprockett, B. Heidenreich, C.B. Blackwood. 2016. Comparison of pectin-degrading fungal communities in temperate forests using glycosyl hydrolase family 28 pectinase primers targeting Ascomycete fungi. Journal of Microbiological Methods 123:108-113.

Abiala, M.A., A.C. Odebode, S.F. Hsu, C.B. Blackwood. 2015. Phytobeneficial properties of bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of maize in southwestern Nigerian soils. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 81:4736-4743. 

Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., K.A. Smemo, C.B. Blackwood. 2015. Fine root morphology is phylogenetically structured but nitrogen is related to the plant economics spectrum in temperate trees. Functional Ecology 29:796-807. 

Valverde-Barrantes, O.J., K.A. Smemo, L.M. Feinstein, M.W. Kershner, C.B. Blackwood. 2015. Aggregated and complementary: symmetric proliferation, overyielding, and mass effects explain fine root biomass in soil patches in a diverse temperate deciduous forest landscape. New Phytologist 205:731-742. 

Mahaney, W.M., K.L. Gross, C.B. Blackwood, K.A. Smemo.  2015. Impacts of prairie grass re-establishment on invasibility and soil properties: implications for restoration. Applied Vegetation Science 18:99-109.