Plant Ecophys Lab

IN PRESS

Nippert JB, M Ahlering, SD Fuhlendorf, CJ Helzer, NA McMillan, Z Ratajczak (in press) Rethinking grassland management in the Great Plains during the era of woody plant encroachment. BioSCIENCE

Kopecki K, MCN Castorani, A Barker Plotkin, DM Bell, JF Johnstone, JS Kominoski, JB Nippert, CJ Nytch, SC Pennings, DC Reed, AB Shiels, TA Tuff, KN Sudina (in press) Legacies of foundation species shape life after death. SCIENCE ADVANCES

Symstad, A., Nippert, J.B., Ott., J., Rogers, W., Toledo, D., Wonkka, C. (in press) The Great Plains Ecoregion. IN: “Fire and Invasive Plants: Science and Management in Wildlands of the United States”, Brooks, Burgiel, Crist, D’Antonio, Kerns, Varner, Eds. Springer Nature Publishing

2026

Puthalath, S, MF Kirk, RM Keen, AN Flores, SA Billings, PL Sullivan, JB Nippert. (2026) SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 1030 181790 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181790

Wedel, ER, T Rodriguez-Blash, JB Nippert (2026) Bison grazing increases grass foliar nutrients and drought tolerance at fine spatial scales. PLANT SOIL https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-026-08422-w

Sadayappan, K., K.M. Jarecke, R.M. Keen, S. Puthalath, W.K. Dodds,  M.F. Kirk, P.L Sullivan, J.B. Nippert, E.C. Seybold, L. Li (2026 ) Flow or no-flow: Does discharge regulate water chemistry in intermittent streams? WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 62:e2025WR040321 https://doi.org/10.1029/2025WR040321

Nippert, J.B., Helliker, B.R. (2026) Physiological and anatomical traits of grass species reflect evolutionary diversification and facilitate persistence in grassy ecosystems. IN: “Routledge Handbook of Grasslands”, D. Gibson, H. Hager, J. Newman, Eds. Routledge Publishing

Slapikas, R, R.C. Donnelly, J.B. Nippert, S. Pau. (2026) Sub-pixel detection of dominant grass evolutionary lineages at four sites across the Great Plains, U.S. using hyperspectral data. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REMOTE SENSING 47(1), 246–265

2025

Billings, S.A., P.L. Sullivan, L. Li, D.R. Hirmas, J.B. Nippert, H. Ajami, A.N. Flores, K. Singha, R.M. Keen, D. Markewitz, J. Chorover, A. Ederer, W.L. Silver, M. Unruh, J. Gerson, S.C. Hart, D.D. Richter, E. Hauser, W.H. McDowell, L.F.T. Souza, I. Baneschi, K.M. Jarecke, J.C. Pachon, Y. Yang, E.L. Aronson, A. Dere, R.E. Gallery, K. Lohse, T. White. (2025) Contrasting depth dependencies of plant root presence and mass across biomes underscore prolific root-regolith interactions. AGU ADVANCES 6, e2025AV002072. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025AV002072

Selected as an EOS "Editor's Highlights"

Hirmas, D.R., H. Ajami, M.G. Sena, X. Zhang, X. Cao, B. Li, K.M. Jarecke, S.A. Billings, J.C. Pachon, L. Li, J.B. Nippert, L.F.T. Souza, A. N. Flores, P.L. Sullivan. (2025) Predicting soil interpedal macroporosity and hydraulic conductivity dynamics: A model for integrating laser-scanned profile imagery with soil moisture sensor data. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 61, e2024WR039836. https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR039836

Jarecke, K., R.M. Keen, K. Singha, J.B. Nippert, S.A. Billings, X. Zhang, K. Sadayappan, M.F. Kirk, D. Hirmas, L. Li, H. Ajami, M. Dumont, A. Flores, P. Sullivan (2025) Woody encroachment intensifies deep soil drying at daily, seasonal, and decadal scales. ECOSYSTEMS 28, 64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-025-01008-0

Sakib, T.U., N. Nelson, G. Hettiarachchi, C. Moorberg, J.B. Nippert, S. Whitaker. (2025) Soil phosphorus availability as affected by root exudates of cover crop species. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 15, 33443. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-19102-7

Tooley, E.G., J.B. Nippert, A.K. Knapp (2025) Revisiting patterns and controls of productivity in a mesic grassland 30 years later: Do we know now what we knew then? ECOSYSTEMS 28, 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-025-00985-6

Pau, S., R. Slapikas, C.-L. Ho, S.L.J. Bayliss, R.C. Donneley, A. Abdullahi, B.R. Helliker, J.B. Nippert, W.J. Riley, C.J. Still, E.R. Wedel, D.M. Griffith (2025) Hyperspectral leaf reflectance of grasses varies with evolutionary lineage more than with site. ECOSPHERE https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70257

Pilon, N., F. Peixoto, R.S. Oliveira, A.C.C. Oliveira, J. Alqueres et al. [inlcuding J.B. Nippert] (in press) Open letter: There are more than just trees and forests to be conserved and restored. PLANTS PEOPLE PLANET https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10635

Wedel, E.R., Z. Ratajczak, E.G. Tooley, J.B. Nippert (2025) Divergent resource-use strategies of encroaching shrubs: Can traits predict encroachment success in tallgrass prairie? JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 113: 339-352 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14456

Anhold, C., E. Alcantar-Velasquez, R.M. Keen, K. Sadayappan, K.M. Jarecke, P.L. Sullivan, J.B. Nippert, L. Li, G.L. Macpherson, and M.F. Kirk. (2025) Grassland woody encroachment alters subsurface mineral weathering and groundwater composition in a carbonate system. CHEMICAL GEOLOGY 673: 122522 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122522

2024

Jarecke, K.M., X. Zhang, R.M. Keen, M. Dumont, B. Li, K. Sadayappan, V. Moreno, H. Ajami, S.A. Billings, A.N. Flores, D.R. Hirmas, M.F. Kirk, L. Li, J.B. Nippert, K. Singha, P.L. Sullivan. (2024) Woody encroachment modifies subsurface structure and hydrological function. ECOHYDROLOGY 0:e2731 https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2731

Donnelly, R.C., J.B. Nippert, E.R. Wedel, C. Ferguson (2024) Grass leaf structural and stomatal trait responses to climate gradients assessed over the 20th century and across the Great Plains, USA AOB PLANTS 16:plae055 https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plae055

Wedel, E.R., J.B. Nippert, R.C. O'Connor, P. Nkuna, A.M. Swemmer (2024) Repeated bush clearing as a mechanism for savanna recovery following bush encroachment. JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY 61:1520-1530. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14666

Restrepo-Acevedo, A.M., J.S. Guo, S.A. Kannenberg, M.C. Benson, D. Beverly, R. Diaz, WRL Anderegg, D.M. Johnson, G. Koch, A.G. Konings, L.E.L. Lowman, J. Martínez-Vilalta, R. Poyatos, H.J. Schenk, A.M. Matheny, K.A. McCulloh, J.B. Nippert, R.S. Oliveira, K. Novick. (2024) PSInet: a new global water potential network. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 44: tpae110 https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpae110

Keen, R.M., K. Sadayappan, K.M. Jarecke, L. Li, M.F. Kirk, P.L. Sullivan, J.B. Nippert (2024) Unexpected hydrologic response to ecosystem state change in tallgrass prairie (2024) JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY 643: 131937 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2024.131937

O'Keefe, K., J.B. Nippert, R.M. Keen, K.A. McCulloh (2024) Contrasting shrub and grass hydraulic responses to experimental drought. OECOLOGIA 24: 931-941 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05543-w

Keen, R.M., S. Bachle, M. Bartmess, J.B. Nippert (2024) Combined effects of fire and drought are not sufficient to slow shrub encroachment in tallgrass prairie. OECOLOGIA 204: 727-742 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05526-x

Tooley, E.G., J.B. Nippert, Z. Ratajczak. (2024) Evaluating methods for measuring the leaf area index of encroaching shrubs in grasslands: From leaves to optical methods, 3-D scanning, and airborne observation. AGRICULTURAL AND FOREST METEOROLOGY 349:109964 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2024.109964

Slapikas, R, S. Pau, R.C. Donnelly, C-L Ho, J.B. Nippert, B.R. Helliker, W.J. Riley, C.J. Still, and D.M. Griffith (2024) Identification of Grass Evolutionary Lineages through Hyperspectral Leaf Reflectance. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES 129: e2023JG007852 https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JG007852

Keen, R.M., B.R. Helliker, K.A. McCulloh, and J.B. Nippert. (2024) Save or spend? Diverging water-use strategies of grasses and encroaching shrub species. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY 112: 870-885 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14276

Billings S.A., P.L. Sullivan, D. Hirmas, J.B. Nippert, D.D. Richter, Z. Brecheisen, C.W. Cook, and E. Hauser (2024) The CZ as an ecological problem: How the interplay of biotic and abiotic actors determines the functioning of Earth's living skin. IN: "Critical Zone and Ecosystem Dynamics" T. White, Ed., Springer Publishing, pp. 23-50.

2023

Sadayappan, K., R.M. Keen, K.M. Jarecke, V. Moreno, J.B. Nippert, M.F. Kirk, P.L. Sullivan, and L. Li. (2023) Drier streams despite a wetter climate in woody-encroached grasslands. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY 627: 130388 doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2023.130388

Swemmer, A.M., J.B. Nippert, T.G. O'Connor (2023) The effects of floods, droughts, and elephants on riparian tree mortality in a semi-arid savanna. FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGMENT 545:121264 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121264

Donnelly, R, E.R. Wedel, J.H.Taylor, J.B. Nippert, B.R. Helliker, W. Riley, C.J. Still, D. Griffith (2023) Evolutionary lineage explains trait variation among 75 coexisting grass species NEW PHYTOLOGIST 239:875-887 doi: 10.1111/nph.18983

Belovitch, M, J. NeSmith, J.B. Nippert, and R.M. Holdo (2023) African Savanna grasses outperform trees across the full spectrum of soil moisture availability. NEW PHYTOLOGIST 239:66-74 doi: 10.1111/nph.18909

Feldman, A.F., D.J. Short Gianotti, J. Dong, R. Akbar, W.T. Crow, K.A. McColl, A.G. Konings, J.B. Nippert, S.J. Tumber-Dávila, N.M. Holbrook, F.E. Rockwell, R.L. Scott, R.H. Reichle, A. Chatterjee, J. Joiner, B. Poulter, and D. Entekhabi (2023) Remotely sensed soil moisture can capture dynamics relevant to plant water uptake. WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH 59: e2022WR033814 https://doi.org/10.1029/2022WR033814

O'Connor, R.C., D.M. Blumenthal, T.W. Ocheltree, and J.B. Nippert (2023) Elevated CO₂ counteracts effects of water stress on woody rangeland-encroaching species. TREE PHYSIOLOGY tpac150 https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpac150

Dodds, W.K., Z. Ratajczak, R.M. Keen, J.B. Nippert, B. Grudzinski, A. Veach, J.H. Taylor and A. Kuhl. (2023) Trajectories and state changes of a grassland stream and riparian zone after a decade of woody vegetation removal. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS e2380 https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2830

Holdo, R.M. and J.B. Nippert (2023) TANSLEY REVIEW: Linking resource- and disturbance-based models to explain tree-grass coexistence in savannas. NEW PHYTOLOGIST 237: 1966-1979 https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18648

Keen, R.M., J.B. Nippert, P.L. Sullivan, Z. Ratajczak, B. Ritchey, K. O'Keefe, W.K. Dodds. (2023) Impacts of riparian and non-riparian woody encroachment on tallgrass prairie ecohydrology. ECOSYSTEMS 26: 290-301 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00756-7

Hatley, C.M., B. Armijo, K. Andrews, C. Anhold, J.B. Nippert and M.F. Kirk (2023) Intermittent streamflow generation in a merokarst headwater catchment ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: ADVANCES 2: 115-131 http://doi.org/10.1039/d2va00191h

2022

Tooley, E.G., R.M. Keen, S. Bachle, and J.B. Nippert (2022) Intra-canopy leaf trait variation facilitates high leaf area index and compensatory growth in a clonal woody-encroaching shrub. TREE PHYSIOLOGY 42(11): 2186–2202 https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpac078

Rastetter, E.B., B.L. Kwiakowski, D.W. Kicklighter, A. Barker Plotkin, H. Genet, J.B. Nippert, K. O'Keefe, S.R. Perakis, S. Porder, S.S. Roley, R.W. Reuss, J.R. Thompson, W.R. Wieder, K. Wilcox, and R.D. Yanai (2022) N and P constrain C in ecosystems under climate change: role of nutrient redistribution, accumulation, and stoichiometry. ECOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS, e2684 https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2684

Ratajczak, Z., S.L. Collins, J.M. Blair, S. Koerner, A.M. Louthan, M.D. Smith, J.H. Taylor, and J.B. Nippert (2022). Reintroducing bison results in long running and resilient increases in grassland diversity. PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, USA.119 (36) E2210433119 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2210433119

Commentary on Ratajczak et al. 2022 in PNAS by Kyle Harms

Fernández, J.A., C.D. Messina, A. Salinas, P.V.V. Prasad, J.B. Nippert, I.A. Ciampitti. (2022) Kernel weight contribution to yield genetic gain of maize: A global review and US case studies. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY 73: 3597-3609 https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac103

Meng, B., J. Li, Y. Yao, J.B. Nippert, D. Williams, H. Chai, S.L. Collins, W. Sun. (2022) Soil N enrichment mediates carbon allocation through respiration in a dominant grass during drought. FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY 36: 1204-1215 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14033

O'Keefe K, S Bachle, RM Keen, EG Tooley, JB Nippert (2022) Root traits reveal safety and efficiency differences in grasses and shrubs exposed to different fire regimes. FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY 36: 368– 379. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13972

Bachle, S., J.B. Nippert (2022) Climate variability supercedes grazing to determine the anatomy and physiology of a dominant grassland species. OECOLOGIA 198:345–355 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05106-x

Fernandez, J.A., J.B. Nippert, P.V.V. Prasad, C.D. Messina, I.A. Ciampitti (2022) Post-silking 15N labelling reveals an enhanced nitrogen allocation to leaves in modern maize (Zea mays) genotypes. JOURNAL OF PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 268: 153577 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2021.153577

Pau, S, JB Nippert, R Slapikas, D Griffith, S Bachle, BR Helliker, RC O'Connor, WJ Riley, CJ Still, and M Zaricor (2022) Poor relationships between NEON AOP data and field-based vegetation traits at a mesic grassland site. ECOLOGY e03590 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3590

Sullivan, P, S. Billings, D. Hirmas, L. Li, X. Zhang, S. Ziegler, K. Murenbeeld, H. Ajami, A. Guthrie, K. Singha, D. Gimeńez, A. Duro, V. Moreno, A. Flores, A. Cueva, A. Koop, E.L. Aronson, H.R. Barnard, S.A. Banwart, R.M. Keen, A. Nemes, N.P. Nikolaidis, J.B. Nippert, D. Richter, D.A. Robinson, K. Sadayappan, L.F.T. Souza, M. Unruh, H. Wen. (2022 ) Embracing the dynamic nature of soil structure: A paradigm illuminating the role of life in critical zones of the Anthropocene. EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS 225: 103873 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103873

Nippert, JB, RM Keen, S Bachle, ER Wedel (2022) Climate change in grassland ecosystems: current impacts and potential actions for a sustainable future. In: CLIMATE ACTIONS - LOCAL APPLICATIONS AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS Ed: B. Groskinsky, CRC Press, ISBN 9780367478339

2021

Nippert, JB, L Telleria, P Blackmore, JH Taylor, RC O'Connor. 2021. Is prescribed fire sufficient to slow the spread of woody plants in an infrequently-burned grassland? RANGELAND ECOLOGY AND MANAGMENT 78: 79-89

Wedel, ER, JB Nippert, DC Hartnett. (2021) Fire and browsing interact to alter intral-clonal stem dynamics of an encroaching shrub in tallgrass prairie. OECOLOGIA https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-021-04980-1

Wedel, ER, K O'Keefe, JB Nippert, RC O'Connor. (2021) Spatio-temporal differences in leaf physiology are associated with fire, not drought, in a clonally integrated shrub. AoB PLANTS, plab037, https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plab037

Gokool, S, JE Moody, ES Riddell, A Swemmer, JB Nippert, R Raubenheimer, KT Chetty. (2021) A preliminary evaluation of ecohydrological separation in a semi-arid riparian area. ECOHYDROLOGY & HYDROBIOLOGY https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecohyd.2021.01.002

Collins, SL, JB Nippert, JM Blair, JM Briggs, P Blackmore, Z Ratajczak. (2021) Fire frequency, state change and hysteresis in tallgrass prairie. ECOLOGY LETTERS 24: 636-647 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13676

Connell, RK, RC O'Connor, JB Nippert, JM Blair (2021) Spatial variation in soil microbial processes as a result of woody encroachment depends on shrub size in tallgrass prairie. PLANT AND SOIL460: 359–373 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04813-9

Hope AG, S Gragg, JB Nippert, F Combe. Consumer roles of small mammals within fragmented native tallgrass prairie. ECOSPHERE 12( 3):e03441. https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)2150-8925

Bachle, S, JB Nippert. (2021) Microanatomical variation tracks climate variation for a dominant C4 grass species across the Great Plains, USA. ANNALS OF BOTANY 127: 451–459 https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa146

Zinnert, JC, JB Nippert, JA Rudgers, SC Pennings, G González, M Alber, SG Baer, JM Blair, A Burd, SL Collins, C Craft, D Di Iorio, WK Dodds, PM Groffman, E Herbert, C Hladik, F Li, ME Litvak, S Newsome, J O’Donnell, WT Pockman, J Schalles, DR Young. (2021) Future Trajectories for ecosystems of the U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network: The importance of state changes. ECOSPHERE 12( 5):e03433. https://doi.org/10.1002/2150-8925

Qui, F, S Bachle, JB Nippert, MC Ungerer. (2020) Transcriptional responses to water stress and recovery in a drought-tolerant fescue wild grass (Festuca ovina; Poaceae). GENOME 64(1): 15-27 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/gen-2020-0055

Case, MF, JB Nippert, RM Holdo, AC Staver. (2020) Root-niche separation between savanna trees and grasses is greater on sandier soils. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY. 108: 2298– 2308 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13475

Griffith, DM, C Osborne, EJ Edwards, S Bachle, DJ Beerling, WJ Bond, TJ Gallaher, BR Helliker, CER Lehmann, L Leatherman, JB Nippert, S Pau, F Qui, WJ Riley, MD Smith, CAE Stromberg, L Taylor, M Ungerer, CJ Still. (2020) Lineage Functional Types (LFTs): Characterizing functional diversity to enhance the representation of ecological behavior in Land Surface Models. NEW PHYTOLOGIST 228:15-23 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.16773

Connell, RK, JB Nippert, JM Blair. (2020) Three decades of divergent land use and plant community change alters soil C and N content in tallgrass prairie. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH - BIOGEOSCIENCES 125, e2020JG005723. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JG005723

Mahama, GY, PVV Prasad, KL Roozeboom, JB Nippert, CW Rice (2020) Legume Cover Crops Can Decrease Nitrogen Fertilizer Required and Nitrous Oxide Emissions in a No-Tillage Sorghum Production System. SUSTAINABILITY 12(11): 4403; https://doi:10.3390/su12114403

O'Keefe K, DM Bell, KM McCulloh, JB Nippert (2020) Bridging the flux gap: sap flow measurements reveal species-specific patterns of water-use in a tallgrass prairie. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES 125, e2019JG005446 https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005446

Qui F, S Bachle, JB Nippert, MC Ungerer (2020) Comparing control options for time-series RNAseq experiments in non-model organisms: an example from grasses. MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES 20: 681-691 https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13137

O'Connor RC, JH Taylor, JB Nippert (2020) Browsing and fire decreases dominance of a resprouting shrub in woody-encroached grassland. ECOLOGY 101: e02935 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2935

2010

Travers, SE, Z Tang, D Caragea, KA Garrett, SH Hulbert, JE Leach, J Bai, A Saleh, AK Knapp, PA Fay, JB Nippert, PS Schnable, & MD Smith (2010) Variation in gene expression of Andropogon gerardii in response to altered environmental conditions associated with climate change. JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY doi: 10.111/j.1365-2745.2009.01618.x

Nippert, JB, M. Hooten, D. Sandquist, & JK Ward. (2010). A statistical model for predicting El Niño events using tree-ring widths and δ¹⁸O. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-BIOGEOSCIENCES doi:10.1029/2009JG001101

Craine, JM, EG Towne, and JB Nippert (2010) Climate controls on grass flowering over a quarter century in a tallgrass prairie. ECOLOGY 91:2132-2140 doi: 10.1890/09-1242

Nippert, JB, JJ Butler Jr, GJ Kluitenberg DO Whittemore, D Arnold, SA Spal, & JK Ward. (2010). Patterns of Tamarix water use during a record drought. OECOLOGIA 162:283-292.  

Nippert, JB, RA Duursma, & JD Marshall. (2004) Seasonal variation in the photosynthetic potential of montane conifers. FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY 18: 876-886

Morgan, J. et al . (2004) Water relations in grassland and desert ecosystem exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2. OECOLOGIA 140: 11-25