Dan Lindner

US Forest Service

Biological and Environmental Influences on Forest Health and Productivity, Genetics, Biological Control, and Management of Invasive Species

My current research examines how human actions can affect fungal communities, and how the resulting changes can affect ecosystem function, especially carbon cycling. I am particularly interested in wood-inhabiting fungi and the development of DNA-based methods for detecting fungi in environmental samples. I also work with biosystematics of fungi, with an emphasis on fungi in the Antrodia-clade of polypores. Current projects include:
1. Investigating the effects of nitrogen fertilization on wood-decay rates and carbon respiration in northern forests
2. Determining the effects of mortality agent (wind-throw vs. beetle-kill) on decay patterns in spruce forests
3. Investigating evolutionary patterns and species boundaries in Laetiporus (Sulfur Shelf or Chicken of the Woods) and Wolfiporia
4. Bio-geographic and systematic studies of fungi from the Caribbean basin, especially Belize
5. Surveys of root-associated fungi in the upper Midwestern US, including mycorrhizal fungi associated with American chestnut