Doctor Laura Williams

Laura Williams

I am a plant ecologist interested in integrating across biological scales and testing ecological theory with data.

Like many, my fascination with nature began as a child: standing beneath tree ferns, peering up at mountain ash trees, and exploring bushland with its camouflaged insects and orchids. As an undergraduate student, I had the chance to work on research projects in ecosystems ranging from riparian zones to tropical rain forest – and my interest in ecological research grew. These experiences led me to undertake a PhD at the University of Minnesota, USA. There I used field experiments to examine how diversity gradients shape interactions among trees with consequences that manifest across scales from leaf trait expression to ecosystem productivity.

Now at HIE, I have joined a multidisciplinary team led by Professor Belinda Medlyn working on developing DAVE – a dynamic vegetation model for Australia – and I am excited to be back thinking about Australian plants and ecosystems.

I am also part of ASCEND, an NSF-funded Biology Integration Institute, where we use spectral biology and predictive models to understand the causes and consequences of plant biodiversity across scales in an era of rapid global change.

Areas of research/teaching expertise

My research focuses on plant ecology and spans topics of spectral biology, trait-based ecology, biodiversity-ecosystem function, community assembly, forest dynamics, and global change. I aim to understand the cross-scale implications of interactions among plants in the context of global environmental change.

Awards and recognition