Research Interests
Prof. Yang holds appointments in Plant Biology and Geology. Her research is in terrestrial biogeochemistry and ecosystem ecology with a focus on determining rates and drivers of chemical transformations in the environment, and particularly in soils. Her group investigates controls on greenhouse gas emissions, soil nitrogen and carbon dynamics, and the coupling of biogeochemical cycles beyond carbon and nitrogen. The group also develops novel methodological approaches using tracer and natural abundance stable isotope techniques. See link below for a detailed web site.
Courses Taught
- GEOL/IB 488: Environmental Stable Isotopes
- IB 100: Biology in Today's World
- IB 452: Ecosystem Ecology
Additional Campus Affiliations
Associate Professor, Plant Biology
Affiliate, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology
Associate Professor, Center for Digital Agriculture, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA)
Recent Publications
McNico, G., Yu, Z., Berry, Z. C., Emery, N., Soper, F. M., & Yang, W. H. (2021). Tracing plant-environment interactions from organismal to planetary scales using stable isotopes: A mini review. Emerging topics in life sciences, 5(2), 301-316. https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20200277
Moore, C. E., von Haden, A. C., Burnham, M. B., Kantola, I. B., Gibson, C. D., Blakely, B. J., Dracup, E. C., Masters, M. D., Yang, W. H., DeLucia, E. H., & Bernacchi, C. J. (2021). Ecosystem-scale biogeochemical fluxes from three bioenergy crop candidates: How energy sorghum compares to maize and miscanthus. GCB Bioenergy, 13(3), 445-458. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.12788
Seyfried, G. S., Dalling, J. W., & Yang, W. H. (2021). Mycorrhizal type effects on leaf litter decomposition depend on litter quality and environmental context. Biogeochemistry, 155(1), 21-38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00810-x
Seyfried, G. S., Canham, C. D., Dalling, J. W., & Yang, W. H. (2021). The effects of tree-mycorrhizal type on soil organic matter properties from neighborhood to watershed scales. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 161, [108385]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108385
Shan, J., Sanford, R. A., Chee‐Sanford, J., Ooi, S. K., Löffler, F. E., Konstantinidis, K. T., & Yang, W. H. (2021). Beyond denitrification: the role of microbial diversity in controlling nitrous oxide reduction and soil nitrous oxide emissions. Global change biology, 27(12), 2669-2683. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15545
