Taryn Bauerle

The majority of my research has focused on growth and physiological responses of plants to water deficits under both greenhouse and field conditions. In so doing, I concentrate on the integration of physiological responses from the organ to the whole plant level. In particular, I focus on root responses to localized water, hydraulic redistribution, and herbivory all important issues surrounding woody ornamental horticultural crops. My lab investigates inherent root-system growth patterns in heterogeneous environments as often found in both containerized and field grown plant material. One major question my research aims to address is "how does water stress influence root allocation and survivorship along a gradient in whole plant water stress severity? " Particularly, how does localized water stress affect individual roots? A complementary component of my research deals with the effects of insect feeding on root population dynamics and function. Plant herbivory can cause severe loss of plant biomass as well as impair physiological function and cause shifts in carbon allocation. Differences in root system growth rate may affect the mechanism by which plants deal with herbivory including, diminished frequency of root infection due to high root growth rates or temporal avoidance. Thus, understanding how plants respond to herbivore pressure strengthens our ability to manage plant-herbivore interactions.

Recent Publications

• Muñoz Ucros J, Wilhelm R, Buckley DH, and Bauerle TL. 2021. Drought legacy in rhizosphere bacterial communities alters subsequent plant performance. Plant and Soil. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-05227-x
• Zwetsloot M and Bauerle TL. 2021. Repetitive seasonal drought causes substantial species‐specific shifts in fine‐root longevity and spatio‐temporal production patterns in mature temperate forest trees. New Phytologist (doi.org/10.1111/nph.17432).
• Muñoz Ucros J, Zwetsloot M, Cuellar-Gempeler C and Bauerle TL. 2021. Spatio-temporal patterns of rhizosphere microbiome assembly: from ecological theory to agricultural application. Journal of Applied Ecology (in press).
• Grams T, Hesse B, Gebhardt T, Weikl F, Roetzer T, Kovacs B, Hikino K, Hafner B, Brunn M, Bauerle T, Häberle K-H, Pretzsch H, Pritsch K. 2021. The Kroof experiment: realization and efficacy of a recurrent drought experiment plus recovery in a beech/spruce forest. Ecosphere DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3399
• Nikolova PS, Bauerle TL, Häberle K-H, Blaschke H, Brunner I, and Matyssek R. 2020. Fine-Root Traits Reveal Contrasting Ecological Strategies in European Beech and Norway Spruce during Extreme Drought. Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 1211. https://doi.org/10.3389/FPLS.2020.01211.
• Pretzsch H, Grams T, Häberle K-H, Pritsch K, Bauerle T and Rötzer  T. 2020. Growth and mortality of Norway spruce and European beach in mono-specific and mixed-species stands under natural episodic and experimentally extended drought. Results of the KROOF throughfall exclusion experiment. Trees 34 (1): 1-14.
• Zwetsloot M, Muñoz Ucros J, Wickings K, Wilhelm R, Sparks J, Buckley D and Bauerle TL. 2020 Prevalent root-derived phenolics drive shifts in microbial community composition and prime decomposition in forest soil. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 145: 107797.
• Hafner BD, Hesse BD, Bauerle TL, Grams TEE. 2019. Water potential gradient, root conduit size and root xylem hydraulic conductivity determine the extent of hydraulic redistribution in temperate trees. Functional Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.13508.
• Huber AE, Melcher P, Piñeros M, Setter T and Bauerle TL. 2019. Signal coordination prior to, during, and after stomatal closure in response to drought stress. New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.16082.
• Bauerle TL. 2019. Applied tree biology [Review of the book Applied tree biology] A.D. Hirons and P.A. Thomas. Wiley Blackwell. The Quarterly Review of Biology 94(3): 299.
• Zwetsloot MJ, Goebel M, Paya AM, Grams TEE and Bauerle TL 2019. Specific spatio-temporal dynamics of absorptive fine roots in response to neighbor species identity in a mixed beech-spruce forest. Tree Physiology. doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpz086.
• Asbjornsen H, Campbell JL, Jennings KA, Vadeboncoeur MA, McIntire C, Templer PH, Phillips RP, Bauerle TL, Dietze MC, Frey SD, Groffman PM, Guerrieri R, Hanson PJ, Kelsey EP, Knapp AK, McDowell NG, Meir P, Novick KA, Ollinger SV, Pockman WT, Schaberg PG, Wullschleger SD, Smith MD, and Rustad LE. 2018. Guidelines and considerations for designing field experiments simulating precipitation extremes in forest ecosystems. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 9: 2310-2325.
• Zwetsloot MJ, Kessler A, and Bauerle TL. 2018. Phenolic root exudate and tissue compounds vary widely among temperate forest tree species and have contrasting effects on soil microbial respiration. New Phytologist 218: 530-541.

View profile and publications on Google Scholar.

• PLSCI 1115: The Nature of Plants
• PLHRT 3050: Arboriculture
• PLSCI 4900: Reflection on Plant Sciences Experiential Learning