Julie Larson

  • Assistant Professor
  • Rachel A. Woods Professorship in Restoration
  • Visit Julie's website

    • Julie Larson

    • Assistant Professor
    • Rachel A. Woods Professorship in Restoration

    Research areas

    Restoration ecology; Management of dryland and rangeland ecosystems; Plant regeneration ecology, including seed and seedling development; Functional (trait-based) ecology; Plant population and community dynamics

    Dr. Larson’s research addresses major challenges in ecological restoration through the lens of plant ecology and functioning. She specializes in plant regeneration with the goal of understanding how soil seed banks, seed-based restoration efforts, and plant recruitment dynamics shape ecosystem recovery after degradation or disturbance. She is also working on collaborative efforts to evaluate and advance equity and inclusion in natural resource disciplines, like rangeland and restoration ecology.

    B.S. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan
    M.S. Environmental Science, Oregon State University
    Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder
    Postdoctoral Research Ecologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service

    Autumn 2026-27 Admissions: Dr. Larson is receiving applications for new graduate students. Please check Dr. Larson’s website for more information.

    Courses

    • ESRM 304 | Environmental Resource Assessment (5) - Autumn
    • ESRM 490; SEFS 590 | Advanced Restoration Theory & Practice (5) - Winter

    Current sponsored projects

    • Testing environmental regeneration thresholds to support dry forest management and resilience

    Selected publications

    Larson, J.E., B.J. Butterfield, S.M. Munson, D.F. Neuhaus, S.M. Copeland. Accepted. Functional traits explain coordinated responses of seedlings to drought and freezing events. Functional Ecology.

    Toone, T.A., E.D. Benjamin, J. Larson, M.S. McKinney, J.C. Russell, C. Smith, Y.S. Zhang. 2026. Restoring surf and turf: Transferable lessons between marine and terrestrial restoration. Biological Conservation. 318: 111844

    Suding, K. N., Collins, C. G., Hallett, L. M., Larios, L., Brigham, L. M., Dudney, J., Farrer, E. C., Larson, J.E.,Shackelford, N. & Spasojevic, M. J. (2024). Biodiversity in changing environments: An external‐driver internal‐topology framework to guide intervention.Ecology, e4322.

    Larson, J. E.,Agneray, A. C., Boyd, C. S., Bradford, J. B., Kildisheva, O. A., Suding, K. N., & Copeland, S. M. (2023). A recruitment niche framework for improving seed‐based restoration. Restoration Ecology, 31(7), e13959.

    Larson, J. E.,& Suding, K. N. (2022). Seed bank bias: Differential tracking of functional traits in the seed bank and vegetation across a gradient. Ecology, 103(4), e3651.