Holly Andrews

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate working in the Barron-Gafford Research Group and the Meredith Ecosystem Genomics Lab at the University of Arizona, studying sustainable agriculture through a biogeochemical lens. In the Barron-Gafford group, I investigate ecological impacts of agrivoltaic systems and their potential for improving carbon and water retention in arid climates. In the Meredith lab, I use integrated multi-omic and stable isotope approaches to unravel plant, microbial, and geochemical interactions that result in nitrogen losses (NO, N2O) from, and therefore reduced fertilizer efficiency in, agricultural soils.

I completed my Ph.D. with Dr. Darrel Jenerette at the University of California, Riverside. In my dissertation, entitled "Patterns and mechanisms of trace gas pulses following soil rewetting in drylands," I quantified trace gas pulse responses to major biogeochemical and climatic drivers in three California drylands: sage scrub, desert, and Imperial Valley agriculture. I completed a Master's degree at the University of Michigan where I worked with Dr. Mark Hunter to complete the thesis, "Effects of altered precipitation regime on interactions in a grassland community," which linked precipitation to the expression of defense traits in milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) and subsequent growth and defense traits of monarch butterfly (Danaus plexxipus) larvae. I received dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Botany and Environmental Science from Miami University, where I discovered my love of ecology and global change biology working in Dr. David Gorchov's plant population and community ecology lab.