Karen K. Christensen-Dalsgaard

My areas of expertise include plant physiology, history of biology and urban ecology. After completing a PhD on the bio-mechanics of tropical trees in the rain forests of French Guyana and Thailand I moved to Edmonton, where plants have a completely different set of challenges to deal with. My subsequent research focused first on frost damage to the water conducting vessels of trees, a topic that should resonate with anyone who ever had to deal with frozen pipes, and later on urban ecology and plants in the urban environment. Recently, I have become interested in how symbiotic relations impact the relative competitive abilities of target species in disturbed soils and how this might help us reclaim e.g. urban sites. My teaching activities have over the past six years had a strong focus on developing and teaching our history of biology course. Other courses I teach include plant biology, applied plant behavior, and urban ecology.