Anna Trugman

Assistant Professor at University of California, Santa Barbara

Anna Trugman is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She has been with UCSB since 2019, focusing her research on the ecological impacts of climate change, particularly how alterations in climate and water availability affect ecosystem diversity, productivity, and resilience across large spatial scales.1 4

Educational Background

Bachelor's Degree: Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University.
Ph.D.: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from Princeton University.
Postdoctoral Fellowship: USDA NIFA at the University of Utah in the School of Biological Sciences.1 2 4

Research Focus

Trugman's research integrates plant physiology and community ecology, utilizing numerical ecosystem models to understand the biological mechanisms that influence carbon dioxide drawdown in ecosystems. Her work is particularly concerned with:

The effects of water limitation on forest productivity and mortality.
The role of plant physiological traits in predicting forest responses to drought and climate extremes.
The implications of these interactions for carbon cycling and ecosystem management under changing climate conditions.1 2 6

Notable Contributions

Trugman has contributed significantly to understanding how terrestrial ecosystems respond to climate change. Her research includes leveraging large-scale trait databases and long-term forest plot networks to analyze forest dynamics over time. She has also received funding for projects that aim to enhance forest management practices in light of climate variability.3 4 6

Publications

Anna Trugman has authored numerous influential papers in the fields of ecology and climate science, contributing to journals such as Science, Nature Geoscience, and Global Change Biology. Her work is widely cited, reflecting her impact on the field.5

Overall, Anna Trugman's multidisciplinary approach combines theoretical modeling with empirical data to address pressing environmental challenges posed by climate change.