Wayne Dawson

Wayne grew up in a rural, forested southern Virginia and has had a personal connection to nature since childhood. He is interested in understanding how terrestrial photosynthesis functions in harsh northern ecosystems, particularly forests in the boreal regions of Alaska. In particular, he is focused on better understanding how plants decide when to start photosynthesizing as you move from Winter to Spring and how this timing may change under climate change. His work primarily uses remote sensing, ecosystem flux measurements, and environmental monitoring to capture the full picture of how these ecosystems are changing and how these changes are affecting plants and, more broadly, the carbon cycle.