My research seeks to scale up the physiological responses of plants to biotic and abiotic stress to explain population level, community level and biogeographic processes. I seek to understand how plants respond physiologically to climatic, biotic, and anthropogenic stresses in order to forecast future ecosystem structure and function. My work asks: How do plants cope with stress? What biophysical and evolutionary constraints define plant stress response strategies? How will multiple stresses affect species geographic ranges, community structure, and ecosystem function? I blend plant physiology and ecology to explain community and ecosystem processes ranging from forest mortality to tree biogeography to global photosynthesis.