Forest Isbell

Forest Isbell
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Associate Professor
University of Minnesota, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior | St. Paul, MN
SERC profile | Personal webpage

Forest Isbell is an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He earned his PhD from Iowa State University and conducted postdoctoral research at McGill University and the University of Minnesota. He was formerly the Haines Family Professor of Aboveground Ecology at the University of Georgia, and the Associate Director of Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve. Dr. Isbell's research considers how global environmental changes alter plant communities and ecosystem processes, and how both ecosystems and people depend on biodiversity. This research builds on previous studies of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning relationships, biodiversity–stability relationships, nutrient enrichment, land use changes, and ecosystem services. Dr. Isbell has served on the editorial boards of several journals, including Ecology Letters and Oecologia, and was a lead author on two reports of the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. He is an NSF CAREER awardee and is recognized by the Web of Science as a highly cited researcher in ecology. He has been a trainer for ADVANCEGeo since 2020.