Alana Chin
Assistant Professor - Plant Physiology
I grew up in Potter Valley, in Mendocino County, I attended Mendocino College before transferring to Humboldt where I did my bachelor’s and master’s degrees, my PhD was from UC Davis.
Specialty Area
I’m curious about how trees work in the context of their environments, especially how climate shapes tree performance. My work focuses on tree structure/function relationships and acclimation to external factors such as drought and heat. I am interested in both basic and applied research, and use experiments and imaging to build trait-based tools to predict tree responses to climate change as well as carbon storage potential.
Education
PhD Ecology, 2021, UC Davis
MA Biology, 2008, Humboldt State University
BS Wildlife, 2005, Humboldt State University
Courses Taught
Botany
Plant Physiology
Research link
Publications
Kerhoulas, L., A. Chin, A. Csank, and J. Mathias. (2023). Editorial: Understanding forest ecosystems: the use of stable isotopes and physiological measurements. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
Chin, A.R.O., P. Guzmán-Delgado, Görtch, A., J. HilleRisLambers. (2023). Towards multivariate functional trait syndromes: Predicting foliar water uptake in trees. Ecology
Chin, A.R.O., J. HilleRisLambers, J. Franklin. (2023). Context matters: Natural tree mortality induces growth release or suppression in nearest neighbors. Forest Ecology and Management
Chin, A.R.O., P. Guzmán-Delgado, L.P. Kerhoulas, M.A. Zwieniecki. (2023). Acclimation of interacting leaf surface traits affects foliar water uptake. Tree Physiology.
Sillett, S.C., M.E. Antoine, A.L. Carroll, M.E. Graham, A.R.O. Chin, R. Van Pelt, (2022). Rangewide climatic sensitivities and non-timber values of tall Sequoia sempervirens forests. Forest Ecology and Management.
Chin, A.R.O., P. Guzmán-Delgado, S.C. Sillett, L.P. Kerhoulas, A.R. Ambrose, A.J. McElrone, M.A. Zwieniecki. (2022). Tracheid buckling buys time, foliar water uptake pays it back: Coordination of leaf structure and function in tall redwood trees. Plant, Cell, & Environment.
Chin, A.R.O., P. Guzmán-Delgado, S.C. Sillett, L.P. Kerhoulas, R. Kramer, Z.J. Moore, M. Reed, M.A. Zwieniecki. (2022). Shoot dimorphism allows redwood to balance the contrasting demands of foliar water uptake and photosynthesis. American Journal of Botany.
De La Torre, A.R., Sekhwal, M.K., Puiu, D., Salzberg, S.L., Scott, A.D., Allen, B., Neale, D.B., Chin, A.R.O., Buckley, T.N., (2022). Genome‐wide association identifies candidate genes for drought tolerance in coast redwood and giant sequoia. The Plant Journal.
Chin, A.R.O., and Black, J.M., (2021). Group size, pup presence, and the behavior of free-living otters: Results from 15 years of citizen science. Northwestern Naturalist.
Godfrey, J., Riggio, J., Orozco, J., Guzmán-Delgado, P.; Chin, A.R.O., Zwieniecki, M., (2020). Ray fractions and carbohydrate dynamics of tree species along a 2,750 m elevation gradient indicate climate response, not spatial storage limitation. New Phytologist.
Chin, A.R.O. and Sillett, S.C., (2019). Within-crown gradients in leaf anatomy in the three tallest conifer species. American Journal of Botany. Chin, A.R.O. and Sillett, S.C., (2017). Leaf acclimation to light availability supports rapid growth in tall Picea sitchensis trees. Tree Physiology.
Chin, A.R.O. and Sillett, S.C., (2016). Phenotypic plasticity of leaves enhances water-stress tolerance and promotes hydraulic conductivity in a tall conifer. American Journal of Botany.
Oldham, A.R., S.C., Sillett, A.M.F. Tomescu, G. Koch. (2010). The hydrostatic gradient, not light availability, drives height-related variation Sequoia sempervirens (Cupressaceae) leaf anatomy. American Journal of Botany.
Oldham, A.R., and J.M. Black. (2009). Experimental tests of latrine use and olfactory communication by river otters. Northwestern Naturalist.
