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Rich Phillips

@richphillipslab.bsky.social
625 followers 55 following 240 posts

Dad, wilderness wanderer, soil searcher, biogeochemical cyclist phillipslab.bio.indiana.edu

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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
I get that it’s a dry heat but still… #ESA2026 #SLCSummer
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Even though transience is part of lab culture, it’s still hard to say goodbye. This summer we bid adieu to long-time lab manager Elizabeth Huenupi, long-time tech Zoe Worman & (sort of) long-time post-doc Daniel Beverly. We will miss (but not forget) you. You’ll bring awesomeness to your next stops!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
🚨Interested in plants, microbes & biogeochemistry? If yes, ya'll have 2d to submit your abstract to our session "B088: The Effect of Plant Communities and Their Microbial Associations on Soil Biogeochemistry" agu.confex.com/agu/agu25/b/pa… Convened by @carboncaitlin Amelia Fitch & me
media.tenor.com
two cartoon characters are standing next to each other and the words oh dear are visible
ALT: two cartoon characters are standing next to each other and the words oh dear are visible
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
The cuvettarians vs dunkers vs isotopians debate will be one to follow!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Does a plane 1/3 of rhizosphere scientists constitute a rhizoplane? So long Edinburgh - thanks for a great week!! #Rhizosphere6
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
What’s it all mean? Lots of factors controls MAOM formation! That different factors control C & N stabilization to minerals - microbial synthesis for N; direct sorption for C – also means that efforts to increase soil C storage may not necessarily increase N retention.
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
We found 1) most variation in MAOM related to FeOx (60-68%), 2) bacterial diversity contributes to MAOM when low (but not high) melanin necromass is present, 3) low melanin forms MAOM more readily than high melanin necromass, & 4) necromass N forms 7x more MAOM than necromass C
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
We added 15N and 13C labeled necromass (high and low melanin) to soils with diff. mineralogies & microbial communities in a jar incubation. The soils were sourced from across southern Indiana and had iron oxide contents that differed by two orders of magnitude.
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Exciting new work from the amazin’ @BeidlerKatilyn, @UMNFuN and others. Much of the OM that “sticks” to minerals comes from dead fungi. But what controls formation rates: input chemistry, mineral reactivity or microbes involved in hyphal decay? authors.elsevier.com/c/1l7Zt8g13f...
authors.elsevier.com
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
So what can we conclude? N resorption has consequences for plant economics & litter-soil-nutrient feedbacks. Given that root foraging is not the only way to acquire soil N, detecting AG-BG trait linkages in forests may require accounting for myco symbionts, tree neighborhoods and site fertility.
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Trees in the garden that resorbed more N produced more roots indicating resorption patterns can cascade to affect litter quality & N availability. In mature stands, we couldn't detect resorption-root relationships despite a strong negative relationship between resorption and litter quality.
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
This took a minute but excited to share it now link.springer.com/10.1007/s004... Trees get N by resorbing from foliage & foraging in soil - but are the two coordinated? We tested hypotheses about relationships between resorption & root production for 12 spp in mature forests & 9 spp in a garden.
link.springer.com
Assessing carbon and nitrogen economics in temperate forests through the relationship between foliar nutrient resorption and root production - Oecologia
Plants both respond to and influence their immediate soil environment, which can yield divergent predictions regarding plant economics and trait coordination. Tree species with high foliar nitrogen (N...
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Today, oh today, I did something indeed. Read The Lorax to second graders, who were grateful I’d agreed. They sat on the floor in rapt attention, as we traveled to Thneedville, belief in suspension Smiles became frowns as the tale turned dark, but when we reached the end, I could see the spark!
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Mike Boylan-Kolchin @mbkplus.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
NSF employees coordinate grant programs, organize and run panels that award grants, and work with awardees to ensure progress, among other functions. Reducing staffing at NSF will not make it more efficient, it will further burden already overburdened employees, making NSF less efficient.
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Matthias C. Rillig @mrillig.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Review in Nature Case et al. Fungal impacts on Earth’s ecosystems www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Fungal impacts on Earth’s ecosystems - Nature
This Review delves into the fungal kingdom, exploring the relationships among fungi, animals, plants and the environment, and investigating both the threats posed by fungi and their potential benefits...
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
PawPaw patrol - amazing!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Hmm, this seems prescient (in last week’s Science)
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Agriculture has a N problem. N fuels growth, but too much N pollutes air & water. Here we argue for focusing on internal microbial N cycling - and not merely N inputs. Fun collaboration w/ @stuartsoil.bsky.social, @andreajilling.bsky.social & several others. authors.elsevier.com/c/1kIZ79C~Iu...
authors.elsevier.com
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Mark A. Anthony @anthomycota.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Come visit us in Vienna! Submit your abstract to the EGU session BG3.13: Mycorrhizal fungi in forest ecosystems. I am happy to be working with Matthias Mayer and Eva Demullier to create an unforgettable session! meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/sessio...
meetingorganizer.copernicus.org
Session BG3.13
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
In other words, Fox News knows exactly what they’re doing..
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Thanks #AGU24 algorithm for suggesting that I connect next week w/ @benbondlamberty.bsky.social & Nate McDowell. Any chance we can use some of our registration fees to buy a few drinks?
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Thought-provoking Tansley about source v sink limitation of tree growth by Trugman & L Anderegg. Strong evidence both are important, not unlike the age-old Q of bottom up v top down controls on energy-nutrient flows. For C cyclists, certainly worth a read nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Source vs sink limitations on tree growth: from physiological mechanisms to evolutionary constraints and terrestrial carbon cycle implications
The potential for widespread sink-limited plant growth has received increasing attention in the literature in the past few years. Despite recent evidence for sink limitations to plant growth, there a...
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
fascinating new work from the lab of @frantecol.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Soil microbiomes show consistent and predictable responses to extreme events - Nature
Soils from 30 grasslands across Europe were subjected to 4 contrasting extreme climatic events under drought, flood, freezing and heat conditions, with the results suggesting that soil microbiomes fro...
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Are those fruiting bodies coming out of your couch?
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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Welcome to WA on Bluesky as requested by you xx 'Breathing Space' by Janis Goodman
Etching of the silhouette of a bird seen from below flying in tbe sky surrounded by tree tops
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Reposted by Rich Phillips
Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge @jeffinerca.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Buried paleosols hold a LOT of #Carbon. What happens when they are exposed? McMurtry et al. show “paleosols defy expectations of C content and reactivity” Getting to the root of the problem: Soil carbon and microbial response... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Getting to the root of the problem: Soil carbon and microbial responses to root inputs within a buried paleosol along an eroding hillslope in southwestern Nebraska, USA
Large quantities of soil carbon (C) can persist within paleosols for millennia due to burial and subsequent isolation from plant-derived inputs, atmos…
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
I’ll be there!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
The tide may be turning but pretty sure the popularity of The Last of Us (Cordyceps!) is not helping…
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Katerina Georgiou @katerinageorgiou.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Do you study how microbial growth and death drive soil organic matter cycling? Submit your work to our #EGU25 session SSS4.10/BG6.7: meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU25/sessio... 👉 Travel support: Dec 1st 👉 Abstracts due: Jan 15th
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Justin Maxwell @l-tulipifera.bsky.social · 20/08/2024
I started this in 2017, but this forever paper is finally done! Eastern US forests are shifting to more mesic species and the climate is expected to get drier. The two combined indicate drought will have a bigger impact in the carbon budget in the future. 🧪🌳 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Asymmetric effects of hydroclimate extremes on eastern US tree growth: Implications on current demographic shifts and climate variability
In the eastern United States, land use decisions have impacted what species are present in forests. The climate of the region has also changed and is expected to continue to warm and produce stronger....
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Important question (on my first day here). Greatest song referencing blue sky/skies: 1) Blue Sky (Allman Bros) 2) Mr Blue Sky (ELO) 3 Goodbye Blue Sky (Floyd)
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 13/09/2024
Aha - a useful for role for AI finally! But who funded the research? How do we know the peer reviewers were not bots? And who wrote the training algorithms for the LLM GPT-4 Turbo? Durably reducing conspiracy beliefs through dialogues with AI | Science
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 10/09/2024
Tree-myco types differ in nutrient use traits but do they differ in hydraulic traits? Biogeographic patterns of dominance (AM in tropics, ECM in boreal) often track precipitation gradients, which could lead to diffs in drought tolerance traits
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 07/08/2024
With @ICOM_12 and @ESA2024 being 8 time zones apart (but during the same week), the steady stream of content has been fun to follow. Though having a bit of FOMO too…#ICOM2024
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 29/07/2024
Fun times in Btown celebrating three birthdays (7/29), two Kimberly Ann(e)s, three of my fav women in science and of course, friends and family @rosvall_lab @Novick_Lab @DrBioGC @JPWrightEcology
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 08/06/2024
Pt 1 of summer tour - Germany is in the books! Delightful time & fun convos abt roots, fungi, soils, music, art, politics & bier w/ Ina Meier lab (Hamburg), #ISRR24 attendees & @Eisenhauerlab @iDiv (Leipzig - the birthplace of myco fungi!). Special thx to Ina & Nico. On to Berlin
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 17/05/2024
Great leaders lead to great science. Tim Fahey was a tremendous scholar teacher, mentor & colleague, whose impact on our field was profound. Yesterday, we celebrated his career with stories, pics and hike @HubbardBrookNH. While Tim will be missed, his legacy lives on #FaheyFest
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 20/04/2024
Collaborations make us smarter & lead to better science (imo). Many thanks to SERC collabs for hosting 2d of data & ideas. From 300yr-old tulips to 11yr-old BiodiversiTrees to lone handkerchief tree (& forest orchids) - we saw it all. Hard to beat science, schnitzel & crab cakes!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 10/04/2024
Before we invoke 'carbon mineralization' as a nature-based climate solution, can we clear up this one thing: Geochemists: conversion of CO2 to carbonate rocks (slows CC) Biogeochemists (& microbial ecologists): conversion of organic C to CO2 (accelerates CC) Just a thought..
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 08/04/2024
Wow, surreal & breathtaking @ Stillwater marsh. As totality approached, temps dropped & darkness descended. Cavity-nesting swallows were silenced & bolted for the canopy; peepers & frogs chorused loudly; and then came owls and a coyote - hootin’ and howlin’. And jaws dropped!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 26/03/2024
Such fun convos with grads, postdocs & PIs from labs of @akeiserecology, @kristenobacter and (Rachel) Hestrin (and others @Stockbridge_Sch). I learned a ton. Special thanks to Ray Cancel Vasquez for hosting and organizing. Black Francis was right about UMass “It’s Educational!”
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 23/03/2024
Nine yrs ago we ran a workshop in Amsterdam to consider what roots & MF do in ecosystems, and how to model this. So much amazing research since then! Sometimes you just need to plant the seed/bury the spore.. @ColleenIversen @aimeeclassen Sir David Read, Nadia Soudzilovskaia 1/2
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 01/02/2024
Thanks @PeteHomyak for hosting me at @UCRiverside. Fun chats with/ @M_J_Spasojevic @harmstk @gdjecology, Mike & Edie Allen (& many others). Sunrise run up Rubidoux and lodging at Mission Inn were also highlights. Nice to be reminded: so much nitrogen, so little time…
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 23/01/2024
Many good climate resources available but one that I've found interesting (& good for diverse audiences) is from UNH (emeritus) prof of earth systems John Aber. New substack entries can be emailed to you. Why Was 2023 So Much Warmer Than Any Other Year?
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 20/01/2024
w/ Arctic air leaving central US next week, let's talk spring! A total solar eclipse (April) & two periodical cicada emergences (May). If in s. MO or IL you get both! Curious about impacts on plants & soils? @DanPBeverly is on it!
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 12/01/2024
Lab meeting this week got a little heated, as teams shaded out each other’s trees; but, we grew a nice forest with C-rich soil in the board-game Photosynthesis @502rules @DanPBeverly @nambiar_ashish @nicole_spanier @Max_P_Scheel
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 25/12/2023
I feel seen (and don’t worry, it’s not from today)
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 17/12/2023
This one took some time but delighted to share it now. Biogeochemical effects of a forest understory plant invasion depend more on dissimilar nutrient economies than invader biomass @LYPodz @cathyfahey_eco @marissaruthlee @lflory @JPWrightEcology 1/
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 20/10/2023
Deleting emails when 172 people use “reply all”
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Rich Phillips @richphillipslab.bsky.social · 11/10/2023
Reason #6347 to halt climate change in its tracks
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