Contact Information
505 S. Goodwin Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
Research Interests
Physiological ecology of vascular plants, photosynthesis, plant architecture, stress, climate change
Research Description
My laboratory is studying the physiological ecology of vascular plants with an emphasis on the environmental limitations to photosynthesis and resource allocation. I am particularly interested in developing integrated models of light utilization by plants in different habitats, with an emphasis on woody plants.
Other research projects include investigations of the effects of UV-B irradiation on growth and photosynthesis, and the impact of elevated CO2 on nutrient acquisition of trees. Currently we are using growth analysis, leaf and plant gas exchange, water relations, tissue chemistry, carbon isotope discrimination, and foliar optical properties, among other methods, in these studies. Research sites include grasslands, old fields, and deciduous forests in Illinois; subalpine and alpine habitats in Wyoming; and shrub steppe in Nevada.
Education
PhD, 1986, Duke University
M.S., 1982, Yale University
B.A., 1979, Bennington College
Additional Campus Affiliations
G. William Arends Professor Emeritus, Plant Biology
Professor Emeritus, Center for Global Studies
External Links
Recent Publications
Blanc-Betes, E., Welker, J. M., Gomez-Casanovas, N., DeLucia, E. H., Peñuelas, J., de Oliveira, E. D., & Gonzalez-Meler, M. A. (2025). Strong legacies of emerging trends in winter precipitation on the carbon-climate feedback from Arctic tundra. Science of the Total Environment, 962, Article 178246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.178246
Blanc-Betes, E., Gomez-Casanovas, N., Bernacchi, C. J., Boughton, E. H., Yang, W., & Delucia, E. H. (2025). The Carbon Budget of Land Conversion: Sugarcane Expansion and Implications for a Sustainable Bioenergy Landscape in Southeastern United States. GCB Bioenergy, 17(7), Article e70058. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.70058
Boughton, E. H., Sonnier, G., Gomez-Casanovas, N., Bernacchi, C., DeLucia, E., Sparks, J., Swain, H., Anderson, E., Brinsko, K., Gough, A. M., Kuziel, L. W., Landau, L., Li, H., McMillan, N. A., Reyes, A. L., Rivero, A., Saha, A., Sorfleet, J., West, A., & Zambrano-Lee, M. (2025). Impact of Patch-Burn Grazing on Vegetation Composition and Structure in Subtropical Humid Grasslands. Rangeland Ecology and Management, 98, 588-599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2024.11.003
Kim, N., Jang, C., Yang, W., Guan, K., DeLucia, E. H., & Lee, D. (2025). Spatial variability of agricultural soil carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide fluxes: Characterization and recommendations from spatially high-resolution, multi-year dataset. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 387, Article 109636. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109636
Li, Z., Guan, K., Zhou, W., Peng, B., Nafziger, E. D., Grant, R. F., Jin, Z., Tang, J., Margenot, A. J., Lee, D., Bernacchi, C. J., DeLucia, E. H., Ciampitti, I., Hu, T., Ye, L., Till, J., & Jia, M. (2025). Comparing continuous-corn and soybean-corn rotation cropping systems in the U.S. central Midwest: Trade-offs among crop yield, nutrient losses, and change in soil organic carbon. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 393, Article 109739. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109739