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
Recent Publications
Brewer, T. E., Aronson, E. L., Arogyaswamy, K., Billings, S. A., Botthoff, J. K., Campbell, A. N., Dove, N. C., Fairbanks, D., Gallery, R. E., Hart, S. C., Kaye, J., King, G., Logan, G., Lohse, K. A., Maltz, M. R., Mayorga, E., O'Neill, C., Owens, S. M., Packman, A., ... Fierer, N. (2019). Ecological and Genomic Attributes of Novel Bacterial Taxa That Thrive in Subsurface Soil Horizons. mBio, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01318-19
Cannon, J., Sanford, R. A., Connor, L., Yang, W., & Chee-Sanford, J. (2019). Optimization of PCR primers to detect phylogenetically diverse nrfA genes associated with nitrite ammonification. Journal of Microbiological Methods, 160, 49-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mimet.2019.03.020
Cannon, J., Sanford, R. A., Connor, L., Yang, W., & Chee-Sanford, J. (2019). Sequence alignments and validation of PCR primers used to detect phylogenetically diverse nrfA genes associated with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). Data in Brief, 25, [104016]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2019.104016
Chen, S., Chee-Sanford, J. C., Yang, W. H., Sanford, R. A., Chen, J., Yan, X., & Shan, J. (2019). Effects of triclosan and triclocarban on denitrification and N2O emissions in paddy soil. Science of the Total Environment, 695, [133782]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133782
Hanisch, P. E., Drager, K., Yang, W. H., Tubaro, P. L., & Suarez, A. V. (Accepted/In press). Intra- and interspecific variation in trophic ecology of ‘predatory’ ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. Ecological Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12817