Senior Director & Phd in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior

Dr. Meghan Midgley is the Senior Director of the Center for Tree Science at the Morton Arboretum. As its director, Midgley leads more than 30 researchers who collaborate with colleagues worldwide to advance and share knowledge of trees and their ecosystems, addressing the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. The center builds scientific networks and shares research resources to develop new solutions to the challenges facing trees, while mentoring the next generation of leaders in tree science. Midgley is also an expert in soil ecology, ecosystem ecology, terrestrial biogeochemistry, and global change. Her research focuses on plant-soil interactions, and she aims to understand how interactions among plants, microbes, and soil mediate ecosystem-specific responses to environmental changes. Her research encompasses two overarching themes: (1) relationships between plant traits and ecosystem functions and (2) above- and belowground consequences of human activities. She investigates these topics using field experiments, field observations, and laboratory studies, with a particular focus on temperate forest, oak savanna, and tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Her work has been foundational in developing predictive frameworks tying leaf and root traits of plants to soil biogeochemistry and microbial community composition in both prairies and forests.  Her research goal is to translate ecological understanding of plant-soil interactions into effective techniques for restoring and managing natural and urban ecosystems. Midgley earned a B.S. in Environmental Systems from the University of California, San Diego. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Science and a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from Indiana University.