My major research interests focus on the current challenges that plant communities are facing in the context of global change, i.e. climate change, invasive species, and landscape fragmentation. These challenges are interconnected as they form the novel environment under which plants are growing. The fact that forest communities are highly dependent on recruitment dynamics makes the study of early demographic stages critical for understanding the impact of global change on the natural ecosystems around us. To isolate these phenomena, I direct my research at the recruitment of dominant tree species, from seed production to the sapling stage, including seed dispersal, germination, establishment and survival during the first years. Results obtained from this line of research are essential to forecast reliable vegetation changes under future climate scenarios.

Selected publications:

Silander, J.A.Jr., Ibáñez, I. and Merhoff, L.J. 2007. The Biology and Ecology of Invasive Species – the Importance of International Collaboration in Predicting the Spread of Invasive Species. Proceedings of the NIAES International Symposium (Tsukuba, Japan): 8-17.

Ibáñez, I., Clark, J.S., LaDeau, S., and Hille Ris Lambers, J. 2007. Exploiting temporal variability to understand tree recruitment response to climate change. Ecological Monographs 77(2):163-177.

Clark, J.S., Dietze, M., Chakraborty, S., Agarwal, P., Ibáñez, I., LaDeau, S., and Wolosin, M. 2007. Resolving the biodiversity paradox. Ecology Letters:10: 647-662.

Ibáñez, I., Clark, J.S., Dietze, M.C., Feeley, K., Hersh, M., LaDeau, S., McBride, A., Welch, N.E., and Wolosin, M.S. 2006. Predicting biodiversity change: Outside the climate envelope, beyond the species-area curve. Ecology 87(8):1896-1906.

Clark, J. S., S. LaDeau, and I. Ibáñez. 2004. Fecundity of trees and the colonization-competition hypothesis, Ecological Monographs 74(3):415-442.