The University of Massachusetts Amherst
A woman with brown hair wearing a black sweater

Kristina Stinson

Graduate Program Director, Environmental Conservation
Associate Professor

Research Interests

My research is focused on plant species’ responses to biophysical stress and climate variation in forests, cities, and alpine ecosystems.  This work is driven by theoretical questions about plant life histories, and how local processes within and among plant populations can help explain broader geographic distributions. The unifying goals of this work are: 1) to advance fundamental research in experimental plant population dynamics and ecology; and 2) to provide scientific guidance for restoration, management, and species conservation.

Current Projects

  • Novel Species Interactions
    • Suppression of native species interactions by invasive plants
    • Interactive effects of invasion and abiotic change on plant-soil feedbacks
    • Ecology and impacts of invasive mustards in sub-alpine meadow ecosystems
  • Ecotypic variation across climate gradients
    • Altitudinal ecotypes in the Brassicaceae
    • Red Hot Maples: Effects of climate on physiology and distribution of Acer species
    • Mapping Allergy Hotspots in New England
  • Source-sink population dynamics and Ecological Traps
    • Reproductive timing and extinction risks in alpine plants
    • Edge-to-understory demographics in garlic mustard invasion
    • Ecological Traps

Lab Website: Stinson Lab Website