My research explores how ecological communities assemble, respond to disturbance, and reorganize across environmental gradients. I am particularly interested in how climate variability, land use change, and restoration efforts shape plant community structure and ecosystem function.

My work integrates field experimentation, geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and collaborative distributed research networks.

1. Wetland Ecology & Climate Change

Wetlands are dynamic systems highly sensitive to shifts in temperature, hydrology, and nutrient availability. My early research examined how warming and environmental variability restructure plant communities across spatial scales.

Using field manipulations, trait-based approaches, and geospatial forecasting models, I investigated:

• Climate-driven shifts in wetland plant community assembly
• Functional trait plasticity and community turnover
• Regional forecasting of wetland habitat redistribution

This work contributed to predictive models of climate change impacts on Midwestern wetland systems and to broader discussions of ecosystem resilience under warming scenarios.

2. Biodiversity, Productivity & Community Assembly

As part of large, coordinated international collaborations, I have participated in global tests of the productivity–diversity relationship and community assembly theory.

This work examines:
Whether biodiversity peaks at intermediate productivity across ecosystems
How plant communities reorganize in native vs. non-native ranges
Cross-continental ecological consistency and variation

These efforts resulted in multi-author publications in Science, Global Ecology and Biogeography, and related journals, contributing to macroecological understanding of biodiversity patterns.

3. Restoration Ecology & Applied Environmental Science

My applied research integrates ecological theory with environmental management and restoration practice.

Key areas include:

• Post-disturbance ecosystem response (e.g., mine tailings impacts)
• Genomics and metagenomics in ecological restoration
• Remote sensing and reflectance spectroscopy for vegetation monitoring
• Wetland delineation and applied field techniques

This work bridges academic research with land management, environmental consulting, and professional certification training.

4. Field-Based Teaching & Distributed Research

A consistent theme of my work is integrating research with teaching. I have coordinated distributed ecological experiments and embedded authentic research experiences within undergraduate and graduate instruction.

This includes:

• Coordinating multi-institution ecological experiments
• Designing field-intensive courses in wetland ecology
• Mentoring undergraduate researchers who have pursued graduate study

My goal is to connect ecological research, professional formation, and stewardship practice.

Refereed Publications

*Denotes graduate student co-authors

Denotes undergraduate co-authors

2025. Pärtel, M.; Tamme, R.; Carmona, C.P.; Riibak, K.; Moora, M.; Bennett, J.A.; Chiarucci, A.; Chytrý, M.; de Bello, F.; Eriksson, O.;…Garris, HW…et al. Global Impoverishment of Natural Vegetation Revealed by Dark Diversity. Nature. 641, 917–924.  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08814-5

2020. Stotz G, Cahill J, Bennett J, Carlyle C, Bork E, Askarizadeh D, Bartha S, Beierkuhnlein C, Boldgiv B, Brown L, Cabido M, Campetella G, Chelli S, Cohen O, Diaz S, Enrico L, Ensing D, Erdenetsetseg B, Fidelis A, Garris H, Henry H, Jentsch A, Jouri M, Koorem K, Manning P, Mitchell R, Moora M, Overbeck G, Pither J, Reinhart K, Sternberg M, Tungalag R, Undrakhbold S, van Rooyen M, Wellstein C, Zobel M, Fraser L. Not a melting pot: plant species aggregate in their non-native range. Global Ecology and Biogeography. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13046.

2019. Garris HW, Settle TH, Crossman JE, Grider SJ, Michaels SL. Combined effects of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) infestation and treatment with imidacloprid on eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) leaf radiometry. Journal of Forestry 1-11 doi:10.1093/jofore/fvz021.

2018. Garris HW, Baldwin SA, Taylor J, *Gurr DB, *Denesiuk DR, Van Hamme JD, Fraser, LH. Short-term microbial effects of a large-scale mine-tailing storage facility collapse on the local natural environment. PLoS ONE 13(4): e0196032. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.01960322016.

2018. Henry HAL, Abedi M, Alados CL, Beard KH, Fraser LH, Jentsch A, Kreyling J, Kulmatiski A, Lamb EG, Sun W, Vankoughnett MR, Venn S, Werner C, Beil I, Blindow I, Dahlke S, Dubbert M, Effinger A, Garris HW, Gartzia M, Gebauer T, Khan MASA, Malyshev AV, Nock C, Paulson JP, Pueyo Y, Stover HJ, Yang X. Increased soil frost versus summer drought as drivers of plant biomass responses to reduced precipitation: results from a globally-coordinated field experiment. Ecosystems, doi: 10.1007/s10021-018-0231-7.

2016.  Fraser LH, Garris HW, Carlyle CN. Predicting plant trait similarity along environmental gradients. Plant Ecol 1–10. doi: 10.1007/s11258-016-0628-3

2016.  Pither J, Fraser LH, Jentsch A, Sternberg M, Zobel M, Cahill J, Beierkuhnlein C, Bartha S, Bennett JA, Boldgiv B, Brown LR, Cabido M, Campetella G, Carlyle CN, Chelli S, Csergő AM, Diaz S, Enrico L, Ensing D, Fidelis A, Garris HW, Henry HAL, Höhn M, Klironomos J, Koorem K, Lawrence-Lodge R, Manning P, Mitchell RJ, Moora M, Pillar VD, Stotz GC, Sugiyama S, Szentes S, Tungalag R, Undrakhbold S, Wellstein C, Zupo T.  Response to Comment on ‘Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness’. Science 351:457.

2016.  Garris HW, Baldwin SA, Van Hamme JD, Gardner WC, Fraser LH. Genomics to assist mine reclamation: a review. Restoration Ecology. 24(2):165-173.

2015.  Fraser LH, Pither J, Jentsch A, Sternberg M, Zobel M, Askarizadeh D, Bartha S, Beierkuhnlein C, Bennett JA, Bittel A, Boldgiv B, Boldrini II, Bork E, Brown L, Cabido M, Cahill J, Carlyle CN, Campetella G, Chelli S, Cohen O, Csergo A-M, Diaz S, Enrico L, Ensing D, Fidelis A, Fridley JD, Foster B, Garris H, Goheen JR, Henry HAL, Hohn M, Jouri MH, Klironomos J, Koorem K, Lawrence-Lodge R, Long R, Manning P, Mitchell R, Moora M, Muller SC, Nabinger C, Naseri K, Overbeck GE, Palmer TM, Parsons S, Pesek M, Pillar VD, Pringle RM, Roccaforte K, Schmidt A, Shang Z, Stahlmann R, Stotz GC, Sugiyama S -i., Szentes S, Thompson D, Tungalag R, Undrakhbold S, van Rooyen M, Wellstein C, Wilson JB, Zupo T. Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness. Science 349:302–5.

2015. Fraser LH, WL Harrower, HW Garris, S Davidson, PDN Hebert, R Howie, A Moody, D Polster, OJ Schmitz, ARE Sinclair, BM Starzomski, TP Sullivan, R Turkington, D Wilson. 2015. A call for applying trophic structure in ecological restoration. Restoration Ecology 23(5):503–507.

2014. Garris, HW. RJ Mitchell, LH Fraser, LR Barrett.  Forecasting climate change impacts on the distribution of wetland habitat in the Midwestern United States.   Global Change Biology 21:766-776.

2011. Miller, JK, L Roketenetz, HW Garris.  Modeling the interaction between the exotic invasive aquatic macrophyte Myriophyllum spicatum and the native biocontrol agent Euhrychiopsis lecontei. Biocontrol 56(6):935-945.

2010. Garris, HW, JA Snyder.  Sex-specific attraction of moth species to ultraviolet light traps.  Southeastern Naturalist 9(3):427-434.

2010. Siccardi AJ, S. Padgett-Vasquez, HW Garris, TR Nagy, LR D’Abramo, SA Watts .  Dietary strontium increases bone mineral density in intact zebrafish (Danio rerio): a potential model system for bone research.  Zebrafish 7(3): 267-273.

2009. Siccardi AJ, HW Garris, WT Jones, DB Moseley, LR D’Abramo, SA Watts. Growth and survival of zebrafish (Danio rerio) fed different commercial and laboratory diets.  Zebrafish 6(3): 275-280.

Proceedings

2016. V Nazeri, F Nourbakhsh, MR Sabzalian, LH Fraser, K Donkor, M Sepehri, HW Garris, W Gardner. Interactions between Microorganisms and Plant Genotype Affect Soil Carbon under Drought Conditions. Proceedings of the 10th International Rangeland Congress July 16-22, 2016, Saskatoon, SK.

2015. Fraser, LF, HW Garris, SA Baldwin, JA van Hamme, WC Gardner. Using genomics in mine reclamation.  Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Mine Closure, June 1-3, 2015, Vancouver, Canada.

Thesis/Dissertation

2013. Garris, HW.  Restructuring of wetland communities in response to a changing climate at multiple spatial and taxonomic scales.  PhD Dissertation, The University of Akron, OH.

2008. Garris, HW.  Feed comparison for dietary standardization of the sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) and assessment of parental dietary copper toxicity by fertilization and embryological tests.  Master’s Thesis, The University of Alabama, Birmingham.

Other Publications

2015. Garris, HW, K McMahen.  Mount Polley supports scientific research into the health and activity of soil microorganisms in the Quesnel River Watershed.  Imperial Metals Press Release.

2010. Garris, HW, J Goodrich, AL Guerrero, MJ Heard, M Lindsey, A Rastogi, RJ White. Voices of the next generation: Perspectives from participants in the 2010 conservation policy park break session.  George Wright Society Park Break Perspectives no. 10.