Asking the pikas politely…
Root hemiparasitic plants are found in almost every ecosystem and can profoundly affect surrounding plants in the community. These organisms use unique belowground structures to attach to host plants and extract nutrients and water but maintain the ability to photosynthesize independently. Yet, they remain significantly understudied outside of agricultural environments and thus are often omitted from our understanding of plant population, community, and ecosystem ecology. This is surprising as they have been shown to increase plant community diversity through the direct effect of parasitism on aboveground plant competition, increase litter decomposition, and alter microbial community composition through the belowground effects of increased litter lability and mycorrhizal suppression. My work aims to provide a complete perspective of plant parasitism by investigating the above and belowground impacts of hemiparasitic plants on community structure, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity. In the Rocky Mountains, a root hemiparasitic plant, Castilleja septentrionalis, is highly abundant across habitat types and elevations, with the potential to play a fundamental role in ecosystem dynamics. To better understand these unique and charismatic organisms, I will conduct a multi-year field experiment, collect demographic data, characterize microbial communities, and quantify carbon and nitrogen cycling. Ultimately, my results will shift the negative perspective of parasitism within plant communities towards a better understanding of their benefits to natural ecosystems.