Louise Egerton-Warburton
Conservation Scientist, Plant-Soil Interactions
Chicago Botanic Garden
I am a soil ecologist. My work examines the role(s) of mycorrhizal fungi in ecosystem structure and functioning. Some of my favorite research questions:
• Do conservative or rare plants host rare mycorrhizal fungi?
• Does the implementation of perennial (vs annual) crops increase soil health and if so, how rapidly?
• Does climate change select for drought-tolerant mycorrhizal fungi?
• Mulching and woodchips - friend or foe to soil health? 
Using perennialization and polyculture as a “middle ground” for prairie restoration (2024)
Soil & Fungal Biology, Fieldwork, Labwork
Does AMF colonization of G. puberulenta roots improve its survivorship in a pot environment? (2023)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology, Fieldwork, Labwork, Natural Areas Management
Examining the utility of perennialization and polyculture in restoration of abandoned agricultural fields (2023)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology, Labwork
Testing the broad-scale effectiveness of perennial crops to restore degraded farmlands (2023)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology, Fieldwork, Labwork
Arbuscular mycorrhizal community responses to shifting soil moisture levels and functional consequences for a conservative plant species in restored prairies (2022)
Ecology, Genetics, Soil & Fungal Biology, Fieldwork, Labwork, Plant Traits
Is there variation in plant root and shoot traits among populations of three tallgrass prairie species? (2022)
Ecology, Genetics, Soil & Fungal Biology, Labwork, Plant Traits
Soil health benefits of perennial agro-ecosystems (2022)
Ecology, Genetics, Soil & Fungal Biology, Labwork, Plant Traits
Perennial Agriculture and Ecosystem Services (Kernza) (2021)
Ecology, Economic Botany, Fieldwork
Soil analysis to inform native violet reintroduction (2020)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology, Labwork
Assessing soil salinity throughout the Garden grounds (2019)
Soil & Fungal Biology, Fieldwork, Labwork
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Soil analysises of Kernza, a new hybrid perennial wheat crop. (2019)
Economic Botany, Soil & Fungal Biology
The future of dry tropical forests in Mexico (2019)
Soil & Fungal Biology
Saving the last populations of Strawberry Tree (Arbutus andrachne; Ericaceae) in the Republic of Georgia (2018)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology
Soil development, carbon stocks and dynamics of carbon pools in urban soils (2017)
Soil & Fungal Biology
Mycorrhizal symbioses of the Amaryllidaceae (2016)
Ecology, Plant Systematics & Florisitic, Soil & Fungal Biology
The role of plant-microbe interactions in mediating invasions by daylilies (2016)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology
Mycorrhizal associates of forest trees of the Yucatan Peninsula (2015)
Genetics, Soil & Fungal Biology
Plant-soil relationships in buckthorn invaded and restored oak savannas. (2015)
Soil & Fungal Biology
Genetic and stable isotope analyses of fungi from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula (2014)
Ecology, Genetics, Soil & Fungal Biology
Impacts of tallgrass prairie restoration on decomposition and microbial communities (2014)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology
Soil Fungal Biomass: Its Degradation and Contribution to Soil Organic Matter (2014)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology
Decomposition and fungal diversity in restored tallgrass prairies (2013)
Ecology, Soil & Fungal Biology
Morphological and molecular identification of mycorrhizal plants and fungi from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. (2013)
Ecology, Genetics, Soil & Fungal Biology
Organic Matter stabilization in soil aggregates during grassland restorations (2013)
Soil & Fungal Biology
Above and Belowground Impacts of European Buckthorn Invasion and Restoration (2012)
Soil & Fungal Biology
Rock-eating fungi (2009)
Soil & Fungal Biology