German Vargas Gutierrez

Vargas Gutierrez, German

Position Type:
Faculty
Job Title:
Assistant Professor
Department:
Forest Ecosystems & Society
Office Location:
Cordley Hall 4413
Phone Number:
541-737-6988
Email:
vargasgg@oregonstate.edu
CV:
VargasG_CV.pdf
Advising:  Graduate Major Advisor
Website:
Forest Ecophysiology Lab
Education
Ph.D. 2021, Plant Biology, University of Minnesota
Lic. 2016, Natural Resources Management, National University of Costa Rica
B.Sc. 2013, Tropical Biology, National University of Costa Rica
Research Areas
Forest, Wildlife and Landscape Ecology
Genetics and Physiology
Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Continuum
Research Interests
  • Ecophysiology
  • Tropical Ecology
  • Forest Ecology
  • Process-based modeling
  • Ecological forecasting
My research focuses on understanding how forest ecosystems respond to global environmental change. In my group, we explore these responses using a combination of field studies, physiological measurements, and mechanistic modeling. Our research spans both tropical and temperate ecosystems, investigating topics such as the physiological diversity and resilience of tropical forests, the effects of drought on temperate forests, and the potential impacts of climate change on species migration and distribution.
Bio
Joint appointment with Botany
Courses Taught:
  • FES 240
    Forest Biology (fall)
  • BOT 488/588
    Environmental Plant Physiology (winter)
Selected Publications:

  1. Vargas G., G., H. Marcano-Vega, T. Ruzycki, T. Wood, W. R. L. Anderegg, J. S. Powers, and E. Helmer (2024). Aridity and forest age mediate landscape scale patterns of tropical forest resistance to cyclonic storms. Journal of Ecology: in press.

  2. Mass, B., C. Cardelus, F. Carrasco Rueda, Y. Chirango, V. Gowda, F. Montaño-Centellas, R. Ostertag, A. Roopsing, G. Vargas, B. G. Yadok, and L. Santiago (2024). Supporting inclusive scientific communities: Insights from the ATBC society survey. Biotropica: in press.

  3. Wang, Y., D. Yang, Vargas G., G. Hao, J. S. Powers, Y. Ke, Q. Wang, Y. Zhang, and J. Zhang (2024). Leaf habit differentiation explains trait tradeoffs across savanna woody plants. Forest Ecosystems 11: 100190.

  4. Smith-Martin, C. M., R. Muscarella, W. M. Hammond, S. Jansen, T. J. Brodribb, B. Choat, D. M. Johnson, G. Vargas G., and M. Uriarte (2023). Hydraulic diversity of tropical forest communities is largely independent of water availability. Ecology Letters 26(11): 1829-1839.

  5. Vargas G., G., D. Perez-Aviles, N. Raczka, D. Pereira-Arias, J. Tijerín-Triviño, L. D. Pereira-Arias, D. Medvigy, B. G. Waring, E. Morrisey, E. Brzostek and J. S. Powers (2023). Throughfall exclusion and fertilization effects on tropical dry forest tree plantations. Biogeosciences 20(11): 2143-2160.

  6. Beidler, K V., J. S. Powers, J. M. Dupuy-Rada, C. Hulshof, D. Medvigy, C. Pizano, B. Salgrado-Negret, S. J. Van Bloem, G. Vargas G., B. G. Waring and P. G. Kennedy (2023). Seasonality regulates the structure and biogeochemical impact of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities across environmentally divergent neotropical dry forests. Journal of Ecology 111(8): 1598-1613.

  7. Toro, L., D. Pereira, D. Perez-Aviles, G. Vargas G., F. M. Soper and J. S. Powers (2023). Phosphorus limitation of early growth differs between nitrogen-fixing and nonfixing dry tropical forest trees. New Phytologist 237(3): 766-779.

  8. Vargas G., G., N. Kunert, W. M. Hammond, Z. C. Berry, L. K. Werden, C. Smith-Martin, B. Wolfe, L. Toro, A. Mondragón-Botero, J. Pinto-Ledezma, N. B. Schwartz, M. Uriarte, L. Sack, K. Anderson-Texeira and J. S. Powers (2022). Leaf habit affects the distribution of drought sensitivity but not water transport efficiency in the tropics. Ecology Letters 25: 2637-2650.

  9. Becknell, J. M., G. Vargas G., L. A. Wright, N.-F. Woods, D. Medvigy and J. S. Powers (2022). Increasing liana abundance and associated reductions in tree growth in secondary seasonally dry tropical forest. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 5: 838357.

  10. Schwartz, N., D. Medvigy, J. Tijerin, D. Perez-Aviles, D. Rivera-Polanco, D. Pereira-Arias, G. Vargas G., L. Werden, L. Arnold and J. S. Powers (2022). Intra-annual variation in microclimatic conditions in relation to vegetation type and structure in two tropical dry forests undergoing secondary succession. Forest Ecology and Management 511: 120132.

  11. Coppieters, K., H. Verbeeck, S. Dequeker, J. S. Powers, G. Vargas G.,, C. Smith-Martin, K. Steppe and F. Meunier (2022). Two co-ocurring liana species strongly differ in their hydraulic traits in a water-limited Neotropical forest. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 5: 836711.

  12. Wu, D., G. Vargas G.,, J. S. Powers, N. G. McDowell, J. M. Becknell, D. Pérez-Aviles, D. Medvigy, Y. Liu, G. G. Katul, J. C. Calvo-Alvarado, A. Calvo-Obando, A. Sanchez-Azofeifa and X. Xu (2022). Reduced ecosystem resilience quantifies fine-scale heterogeneity in tropical forest mortality responses to drought. Global Change Biology 28: 2081-2094.

  13. Powers, J. S., A. Mondragón-Botero, N. Norden, B. Salgado-Negret, C. Pizano, R. González-M and G. Vargas G. (2022). Discovering the forest in plain sight: A pop-up symposium focusing on seasonally dry tropical forests. New Phytologist 233: 62-65.

  14. Vargas G., G., T. J. Brodribb, J. M. Dupuy, R. Gonzalez-M., C. M. Hulshof, D. Medvigy, T. A. P. Allerton, C. Pizano, B. Salgado-Negret, N. B. Schwartz, S. J. Van Bloem, B. G. Waring and J. S. Powers (2021). Beyond leaf habit: generalities in plant function across 97 tropical dry forest tree species. New Phytologist 232: 148-161.

  15. Becknell, J., G. Vargas G.,, D. Perez-Aviles, D. Medvigy and J. S. Powers (2021). Above-ground net primary productivity in regenerating seasonally dry tropical forest: Contributions of rainfall, forest age and soil. Journal of Ecology 109: 3903-3915.