MECHANISMS OF PLANT ASSEMBLY DURING SECONDARY INVASION AFTER TARGETED WEED CONTROL IN CALIFORNIA RANGELANDS

Research goals: Experimental design, qualitative skillsets, and analysesI will use key terms to generate a reading list for my systematic review of rangeland plant trait-based assembly in summer 2022 (I1). By the end of summer 2022, I will finish the reading list (I2), collect the first set of field data (I3), and seeds from dominant field species for the greenhouse experiment (I4). I will run power analyses to ensure sufficient sampling and adjust methods as needed before the next field collection (I5). I will draft a manuscript of my review on rangeland assembly by late fall 2022 (I6) and start set-up for the greenhouse experiment (I7). I will collect three additional sets of field data in fall 2022 and spring and winter 2023 (I8). I will submit my review manuscript by winter 2023 under revision and mentorship of Dr. Funk (I9). I will finish collecting all data for the greenhouse study by early spring 2023 (I10). I will conduct analyses for field and greenhouse projects as data are processed and draft the manuscript early on to be revised after final data are incorporated. I will submit the manuscripts for the greenhouse study by summer 2023 (I11) and the field study by winter 2024 (I12) in top-tier ecology journals.Professional goals: Sharing results with land managers and collaborative researchI have already contacted land managers about potential study sites and target species they believe are ideal for this project (I13). I will host joint calls at the start and 4 months before the end of the funding period to receive iterative feedback from all stakeholders and to facilitate group discussion about findings, approaches, and management implications (I14). I will regularly schedule meetings with land manager project partners (semi-annually to annually). I will continue to keep land managers and my list of known managers updated about project findings and how they may be applicable to management and provide at least two open-access talks by winter 2024 (I15­). By summer 2022, I will reach out to potential collaborators who may want to contribute additional data with a standardized protocol at other rangelands (I16).Teaching and student mentorship goals: Promoting student research and lecturingI will continue the grassland ecology mentorship program for undergraduates at UC Davis (I17) that I independently created in 2018 during my PhD at UC Santa Cruz. I will encourage and mentor students to pursue senior theses or independent research projects related to my larger research design (I18). I will reach out to community colleges with rangeland related technical programs to arrange guest help and provide access to a more diverse community of students (I19).Equity and diversity goals: Mentor underrepresented students through research and grant writingI will reserve spots in my mentorship program for underrepresented students and encourage and mentor them to write research grants to fund high quality senior theses (I20). I will pay for undergraduate mentees to attend research and professional conferences and introduce them to my personal network of researchers and career professionals (I21).Professional and academic career development. I will work with my primary mentor, Dr. Funk to develop strategies on how to design and publish more impactful research (I­22). We will discuss methods on how to make my job applications more competitive and how to find desirable career positions (I23). Dr. Funk will guide me on how to write successful proposals from large funding agencies (I24) and introduce me to her large network of collaborators to facilitate innovative collaborations and cutting-edge research (I25). Dr. Funk will advise me how to build a faculty research program and further build upon this postdoctoral work and apply for ECR funding (I26).