Brooke Osborne
Environment & Society
Assistant Professor

Contact Information
Office Location: Moab, 151Phone: (435) 797-1539
Email: brooke.osborne@usu.edu
Additional Information:
Educational Background
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Nelson, R.A, Sullivan, L.L, Hersch-Green, E.I, Seabloom, E.W, Borer, E.T, Tognetti, P.M, Adler, P., Biederman, L., Bugalho, M.N, Caldeira, M.C, Cancela, J.P, Carvelheiro, L.G, Catford, J.A, Dickman, C.R, Dolezal, A.J, Donohue, I., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Elgersma, K.J, Eskelinen, A., Estrada, C., Gabrowski, M., Graff, P., Gruner, D.S, Hagenah, N., Haider, S., Harpole, W.S, Hautier, Y., Jentsch, A., Johanson, N., Koerner, S.E, Lannes, L.S, MacDougall, A.S, Martinson, H., Morgan, J.W, Olde Venterink, H., Orr, D., Osborne, B., Peri, P.L, Power, S.A, Raynaud, X., Risch, A.C, Shrestha, M., Smith, N.G, Stevens, C.J, Ciska Veen, G.F, Virtanen, R., Wardle, G.M, Wolf, A.A, Young, A.L, Harrison, S.P, (2025). Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory. Communications Biology, 8:1, 444.
- Chen, H., Xu, Q., Jan van Groenigen, Kees, , Hungate, B.A, Smith, P., Li, D., Moorhead, D.L, Osborne, B., Ma, Z., Olesen, J.E, Wang, C., Liu, J., Sun, X., Chu, C., Chen, J., (2025). Linking soil extracellular enzymes with soil respiration following changes in litter input rates. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 367, 110503.
- Ohlert, T., Smith, M.D, Wilkins, K.D, Holdrege, M.C, Wilfahrt, P., Collins, S.L, Knapp, A.K, Sala, O.E, Dukes, J.S, Phillips, R.P, Yahdjian, L., Gherardi, L.A, Beier, C., Fraser, L.H, Jentsch, A., Loik, M.E, Maestre, F.T, Power, S.A, Yu, Q., Felton, A.J, Munson, S.M, Luo, Y., Abdoli, H., Abedi, M., Alados, C.L, Alberti, J., Alon, M., An, H., Anacker, B., Anderson, M., Auge, H., Bachle, S., Bahalkeh, K., Bahn, M., Batbaatar, A., Bauerle, T., Beard, K.H, Behn, K., Beil, I., Biancari, L., Blindow, I., Bondaruk, V.F, Borer, E.T, Bork, E.W, Bruschetti, C.M, Byrne, K.M, Cahill, Jr., J.F, Calvo, D.A, Carbognani, M., Cardoni, A., Carlyle, C.N, Castillo-Garcia, M., Chang, S.X, Chieppa, J., Cianciaruso, M.V, Cohen, O., Cordeiro, A.L, Cusack, D.F, Dahlke, S., Daleo, P., D'Antonio, C.M, Dietterich, L.H, Doherty, T.S, Dubbert, M., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Fischer, F.M, Forte, T.G, Gebauer, T., Gozalo, B., Greenville, A.C, Guidoni-Martins, K.G, Hannusch, H.J, Haugum, S.V, Hautier, Y., Hefting, M., Henry, H.A, Hoss, D., Ingrisch, J., Iribarne, O., Isbell, F., Johnson, Y., Jordan, S., Kelly, E.F, Kimmel, K., Kreyling, J., Kröel-Dulay, G., Kröpfl, A., Kübert, A., Kulmatiski, A., Lamb, E.G, Larsen, K.S, Larson, J., Lawson, J., Leder, C.V, Linstädter, A., Liu, J., Liu, S., Lodge, A.G, Longo, G., Loydi, A., Luan, J., Lubbe, F.C, Macfarlane, C., Mackie-Haas, K., Malyshev, A.V, Maturano-Ruiz, A., Merchant, T., Metcalfe, D.B, Mori, A.S, Mudongo, E., Newman, G.S, Nielsen, U.N, Nimmo, D., Niu, Y., Nobre, P., O'Connor, R.C, Ogaya, R., Oñatibia, G.R, Orbán, I., Osborne, B., Otfinowski, R., Pärtel, M., Penuelas, J., Peri, P.L, Peter, G., Petraglia, A., Picon-Cochard, C., Pillar, V.D, Piñeiro-Guerra, J.M, Ploughe, L.W, Plowes, R.M, Portales-Reyes, C., Prober, S.M, Pueyo, Y., Reed, S.C, Ritchie, E.G, Rodríguez, D.A, Rogers, W.E, Roscher, C., Sánchez, A.M, Santos, B.A, Scarfó, M.C, Seabloom, E.W, Shi, B., Souza, L., Stampfli, A., Standish, R.J, Sternberg, M., Sun, W., Sünnemann, M., Tedder, M., Thorvaldsen, P., Tian, D., Tielbörger, K., Valdecantos, A., Liesbeth van den Brink, , Vandvik, V., Vankoughnett, M.R, Velle, L.G, Wang, C., Wang, Y., Wardle, G.M, Werner, C., Wei, C., Wiehl, G., Williams, J.L, Wolf, A.A, Zeiter, M., Zhang, F., Zhu, J., Zong, N., Zuo, X., (2025). Drought intensity and duration interact to magnify losses in primary productivity. Science, 390:6770, 284-289.
- Osborne, B., (2025). Local nutrient addition drives plant diversity losses but not biotic homogenization in global grasslands. Nature Communications, 16:1, 4903. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59166-7
- Lopez, A., Anthony, M., Catalan-Dibene, J., Ferrenberg, S., Jordan, S.E, Osborne, B., Reed, S., Romero-Olivares, A.L, (2024). Dryland fungi are spatially heterogeneous and resistant to global change drivers. Ecosphere, 15:12, e70031.
- Romero-Olivares, A.L, Lopez, A., Catalan-Dibene, J., Ferrenberg, S., Jordan, S.E, Osborne, B., (2024). Effects of global change drivers on the expression of pathogenicity and stress genes in dryland soil fungi. mSphere, 9:11, e00658--24.
- Smith, M.D, Wilkins, K.D, Holdrege, M.C, Wilfahrt, P., Collins, S.L, Knapp, A.K, Sala, O.E, Dukes, J.S, Phillips, R.P, Yahdjian, L., Gherardi, L., Ohlert, T., Beier, C., Fraser, L., Jentsch, A., Loik, M., Maestre, F., Power, S., Yu, Q., Felton, A., Munson, S., Luo, Y., Abdoli, H., Abedi, M., Alados, C., Alberti, J., Alon, M., An, H., Anacker, B., Anderson, M., Auge, H., Bachle, S., Bahalkeh, K., Bahn, M., Batbaatar, A., Bauerle, T., Beard, K.H, Behn, K., Beli, I., Biancari, L., Blindow , I., Bondaruk, V., Borer, E., Bork, E., Bruschetti, C., Byrne, K., Cahill, J., Calvo, D., Carbognani, M., Cardoni, A., Carlyle, C., Castillo-Garcia, M., Chang, S., Chieppa, J., Cianciaruso, M., Cohen, O., Cordiero, A., Cusack, D., Dahlke, S., Daleo, P., D'Antonio, C., Diettrich, L., Doherty, T., Dubbert, M., Ebeling, A., Eisenhauer, N., Fischer, F., Forte, T., Gebauer, T., Gozalo, B., Greenville, A., Guidoni-Martins, k., Hannusch, h., Haugum, S., Hautier, Y., Hefting, M., Henry, H., Hoss, D., Ingrisch, J., Iribarne, O., Isbell, F., Johnson, Y., Jordan, S., Kelly, E., Kimmel, K., Kreyling, J., Kröel-Dulay, G., Kröpfl, A., Kübert, A., Kulmatiski, A., Lamb, E., Larsen, K., Larsen, J., Lawson, J., Leder, C., Linstädter, A., Liu, J., Liu, S., Lodge, A., Longo, G., Loydi, A., Luan, J., Lubbe, F., Macfarlane, C., Mackie-Haas, K., Malyshev, A., Maturano-Ruiz, A., Merchant, T., Metcalfe, D., Mori, A., Mudongo, E., Newman, G., Nielsen, U., Nimmo, D., Niu, Y., Nobre, P., O'Connor, R., Ogaya, R., Oñatibia, G., Orbán, I., Osborne, B., Others, , (2024). Extreme drought impacts have been underestimated in grasslands and shrublands globally. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121:4, e2309881120.
- Eldridge, D.J, Ding, J., Dorrough, J., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Sala, O., Gross, N., Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Y., Mallen-Cooper, M., Saiz, H., Asensio, S., Ochoa, V., Gozalo, b., Guirado, E., García-Gómez, M., Valencia, E., Martínez-Valderrama, J., Plaza, C., Abedi, M., Ahmadian, N., Ahmada, R., Alcántara, J., Amghar, F., Azevedo, L., Ben Salem, F., Berdugo, M., Blaum, N., Boldgiv, B., Bowker, M., Bran, D., Bu, C., Canessa, R., Castillo-Monroy, A., Castro, I., Castro-Quezada, P., Cesarz, S., Chibani, R., Conceição, A., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Davila, Y., Deák, B., Díaz-Martínez, P., Donoso, D., Dougill, A., Durán, J., Eisenhauer, N., Ejtehadi, H., Espinosa, C., Fajardo, A., Farzam, M., Foronda, A., Franzese, J., Fraser, L., Gaitán, J., Geissler, K., Gonzalez, S., Gusman-Montalvan, E., Hernández, R., Hölzel, N., Hughs, F., Jadan, O., Jentsch, A., Ju, M., Kaseke, K., Köbel, M., Lehmann, A., Liancourt, P., Linstädter, A., Louw, M., Ma, Q., Mabaso, M., Maggs-Kölling, G., Makhalanyane, T., Issa, O., Marais, E., McClaran, M., Mendoza, B., Mokoka, V., Mora, J., Moreno, G., Munson, S., Nunes, A., Oliva, G., Osborne, B., Peter, G., Pierre, M., Pueyo, Y., Quiroga, R.E, Reed, S., Rey, A., Rey, P., Reyes Gómez, V.M, Rolo , V., Rillig, M.C, le Roux, P.C, Ruppert, J.C, Salah, A., Sebei, P.J, Sharkhuu, A., Stavi, I., Stephens, C., Teixido, A.L, Thomas, A.D, Tielböger, K., Robles, S.T, Travers, S., Volkó, O., van den Brink, L., Velbert, F., von Heberg, A., Wamiti, W., Wang, D., Wang, L., Wardle, G.M, Yahdjian, L., Zaady, E., Zhang, Y., Zhou, X., Maestre, F.T, (2024). Hotspots of biogeochemical activity linked to aridity and plant traits across global drylands. Nature plants, 10:5, 760--770.
- Phillips, M.L, Lauria, C., Spector, T., Bradford, J.B, Gehring, C., Osborne, B., Howell, A., Grote, E.E, Rondeau, R.J, Trimber, G.M, Robinson, B., Reed, S.C, (2024). Trajectories and tipping points of piñon-juniper woodlands after fire and thinning. Global Change Biology, 30:2, e17149.
- Zheng, Y., Hu, Z., Jian, J., Chen, J., Osborne, B., Zhou, G., Xu, Q., Zheng, Z., Ma, L., Ha, X., Bell, S.M, Frew, A., (2024). Tree functional group mediates the effects of nutrient addition on soil nutrients and fungal communities beneath decomposing wood. Plant and Soil
- Díaz-Martinez, P., Maestre, F.T, Moreno-Jiménez, Eduardo, , Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Eldridge, D.J, Saiz, H., Gross, N., Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Y., Gozalo, B., Ochoa, V., Guirado, E., García-Gómez, M., Valencia, E., Asensio, S., Berdugo, M., Martínez-Valderrama, J., Mendoza, B., García-Gil, J., Zaccone, C., Panettieri, M., García-Palacios, P., Fan, W., Benavente-Ferraces, I., Rey, A., Eisenhauer, N., Cesarz, S., Abedi, M., Ahumada, R., Alcántara, J., Amghar, F., Aramayo, V., Arroyo, A., Bahalkeh, K., Ben Salem, F., Blaum, N., Boldgiv, B., , Bowker, M., Branquinho, C., Bu, C., Cáceres, Y., Canessa, R., Castillo-Monroy, A., Castro, I., Castro-Quezada, P., Chibani, R., Conceição, A., Currier, C., Darrouzet-Nardi, A., Deák, B., Dickman, C., Donoso, D., Dougill, A., Durán, J., Ejtehadi, H., Espinosa, C., Fajardo, A., Farzam, M., Ferrante, D., Fraser, L., Gaitán, J., Montalván, E., Hernández, R., Heberg, A., Hölzel, N., Huber-Sannwald, E., Hughs, F., Jadán-Maza, O., Geissler, K., Jentsch, A., Ju, M., Kaseke, K., Kindermann, L., Koopman, J., Le Roux, P., Liancourt, P., Lindstädter, A., Liu, J., Louw, M., Maggs-Kölling, G., Makhalanyane, T., Issa, O., Marais, E., Margerie, P., Mazaneda, A., Mazaneda, M., Messeder, J., Mora, J., Moreno, G., Munson, S., Nunez, A., Oliva, G., Oñatibia, G., Osborne, B., Peter, G., Pueyo, Y., Quiroga, E.E, Reed, S.C, Reyes, V.M, Rodriguez, A., Ruppert, J.C, Sala, O., Salah, A., Sebei, J., Sloan, M., Solongo, S., Stavi, I., Travers, S., Val, J., Valko, O., van den Brink, L., Velbert, F., Wamiti, W., Wang, D., Wang, L., Wardle, G.M, Yahjian, L., Zaady, E., Zeberio, J.M, Zhang, Y., Zhang, Z., Plaza, C., (2024). Vulnerability of mineral-associated soil organic carbon to climate across global drylands. Nature Climate Change, 14:9, 976--982.
- Shi, B., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Knapp, A., Smith, M., Reed, S., Osborne, B., Yolima , C., Maestre, F.T, Zhu, Y., Chen, A., Wilkins, K., Holdrege, M., Kulmatiski, A., Picon-Cochard, C., Roscher, ., Power, S., Byrne, .M, Churchill, A.C, Jentsch, A., Henry, H.A, Beard, K.H, Schuchardt, M.A, Eisenhauer, ., Otfinowski, ., Hautier, ., Shen, H., Wang, Y., Wang, Z., Wang, C., Cusack, D.F, Petraglia, A., Carbognani, M., Forte, T.G, Flory, S.L, Hou, P., Zhang, T., Gao, W., Sun, W., (2024). Aridity drives the response of soil total and particulate organic carbon to drought in temperate grasslands and shrublands. Science Advances, 10:40, doi: doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adq2654
- Terry, T.J, Sala, O.E, Ferrenberg, S., Reed, S.C, Osborne, B., Jordan, S., Lee, S., Adler, P., (2024). Disturbance amplifies sensitivity of dryland productivity to precipitation variability. Science Advances, 10:30, eadm9732. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adm9732
- Hu, M., Wang, J., Lu, L., Shao, P., Zhou, Z., Wang, D., Han, S., Osborne, B., Chen, J., (2023). Post-fire soil extracellular enzyme activities in subtropical-warm temperate climate transitional forests. Land Degradation & Development, 34:7, 1973-1983.
- Young, K., Osborne, B., Phillips, M., Winkler, D.E, (2023). Restoration research actions to address rapid change in drylands: insights from the Colorado Plateau. Restoration Ecology, 31:4, e13855.
- Osborne, B., Roybal, C.M, Reibold, R., Collier, C.D, Geiger, E., Phillips, M.L, Weintraub, M.N, Reed, S.C, (2022). Biogeochemical and ecosystem properties in three adjacent semi-arid grasslands are resistant to nitrogen deposition but sensitive to edaphic variability. Journal of Ecology, 110:7, 1615-1631.
- Carroll, O., Batzer, E., Bharath, S., Borer, E.T, Campana, S., Esch, E., Hautier, Y., Ohlert, T., Seabloom, E.W, Adler, P., Bakker, J., Biederman, L., Bugalho, M., Calderia, M., Chen, Q., Davies, K., Fay, P., Knops, J., Komatsu, K., Martina, J., McCann, K., Moore, J., Morgan, J., Muraina, T., Osborne, B., Reich, A.C, Stevens, C., Wilfhart, P.A, Yahjian, L., MacDougall, A.S, (2022). Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands. Ecology Letters, 25:4, 754-765.
- Osborne, B., Bestelmeyer, B.T, Currier, C.M, Homyak, P.M, Throop, H.L, Young, K., Reed, S.C, (2022). The consequences of climate change for dryland biogeochemistry. New Phytologist
- Osborne, B., Soper, F.M, Nasto, M.K, Bru, D., Hwang, S., Machmuller, M.B, Morales, M.L, Philippot, L., Sullivan, B.W, Asner, G.P, Cleveland, C.C, Townsend, A.R, Porder, S., (2021). Litter inputs drive patterns of soil nitrogen heterogeneity in a diverse tropical forest: Results from a litter manipulation experiment. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 158, 108247.
- Phillips, M.L, Winkler, D.E, Reibold, R.H, Osborne, B., Reed, S.C, (2021). Muted responses to chronic experimental nitrogen deposition on the Colorado Plateau. Oecologia, 195:2, 513--524.
- Osborne, B., Nasto, M.K, Soper, F.M, Asner, G.P, Balzotti, C.S, Cleveland, C.C, Taylor, P.G, Townsend, A.R, Porder, S., (2020). Leaf litter inputs reinforce islands of nitrogen fertility in a lowland tropical forest. Biogeochemistry, 147, 293--306.
- Soper, F.M, Sullivan, B.W, Osborne, B., Shaw, A.N, Philippot, L., Cleveland, C.C, (2019). Leaf-cutter ants engineer large nitrous oxide hot spots in tropical forests. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286:1894, 20182504.
- Soper, F.M, Nasto, M.K, Osborne, B., Cleveland, C.C, (2019). Nitrogen fixation and foliar nitrogen do not predict phosphorus acquisition strategies in tropical trees. Journal of Ecology, 107:1, 118--126.
- Soper, F.M, Sullivan, B.W, Nasto, M.K, Osborne, B., Bru, D., Balzotti, C.S, Taylor, P.G, Asner, G.P, Townsend, A.R, Philippot, L., Porder, S., Cleveland, C.C, (2018). Remotely sensed canopy nitrogen correlates with nitrous oxide emissions in a lowland tropical rainforest. Ecology, 99:9, 2080--2089.
- Hall, E.K, Bernhardt, E.S, Bier, R.L, Bradford, M.A, Boot, C.M, Cotner, J.B, Del Giorgio, P.A, Evans, S.E, Graham, E.B, Jones, S.E, Lennon, J.T, Locey, K.L, Nemergut, D., Osborne, B., Rocca, J.D, Schimel, J.P, Waldrop, M.P, Wallenstein, M.D, (2018). Understanding how microbiomes influence the systems they inhabit. Nature Microbiology, 3:9, 977--982.
- Osborne, B., Nasto, M.K, Asner, G.P, Balzotti, C.S, Cleveland, C.C, Sullivan, B.W, Taylor, P.G, Townsend, A.R, Porder, S., (2017). Climate, topography, and canopy chemistry exert hierarchical control over soil nitrogen cycling in a Neotropical lowland forest. Ecosystems, 20, 1089--1103.
- Conant, R.T, Cerri, C.E, Osborne, B., Paustian, K., (2017). Grassland management impacts on soil carbon stocks: a new synthesis. Ecological Applications, 27:2, 662--668.
- Nasto, M.K, Osborne, B., Lekberg, Y., Asner, G.P, Balzotti, C.S, Porder, S., Taylor, P.G, Townsend, A.R, Cleveland, C.C, (2017). Nutrient acquisition, soil phosphorus partitioning and competition among trees in a lowland tropical rain forest. New Phytologist, 214:4, 1506--1517.
- Balzotti, C.S, Asner, G.P, Taylor, P.G, Cole, R., Osborne, B., Cleveland, C.C, Porder, S., Townsend, A.R, (2017). Topographic distributions of emergent trees in tropical forests of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Ecography, 40:7, 829--839.
- Balzotti, C.S, Asner, G.P, Taylor, P.G, Cleveland, C.C, Cole, R., Martin, R.E, Nasto, M., Osborne, B., Porder, S., Townsend, A.R, (2016). Environmental controls on canopy foliar nitrogen distributions in a Neotropical lowland forest. Ecological Applications, 26:8, 2451--2464.
- Osborne, B., Baron, J.S, Wallenstein, M.D, (2016). Moisture and temperature controls on nitrification differ among ammonia oxidizer communities from three alpine soil habitats. Frontiers of Earth Science, 10, 1--12.
- Bier, R.L, Bernhardt, E.S, Boot, C.M, Graham, E.B, Hall, E.K, Lennon, J.T, Nemergut, D.R, Osborne, B., Ruiz-Gonzalez, C., Schimel, J.P, others, , (2015). Linking microbial community structure and microbial processes: an empirical and conceptual overview. FEMS microbiology ecology, 91:10, fiv113.
- Osborne, B., Quantifying potential abiotic drivers of the nurse-plant effect in two dominant shrub species of the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Oecologia, 207:10, 163.
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Teaching
Graduate Students Mentored
Biography
Brooke is an Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions of Environmental Change in the Department of Environment and Society at the USU-Moab campus. She is a biogeochemist specializing in the effects of human-driven global change, including climate and land use changes, on terrestrial ecosystem structure and function. Her teaching and research tackle big picture questions about the ways in which ecosystems respond to and shape our changing world and she is motivated by the urgent need for improved forecasts of ecosystem responses to global change and adaptive land management strategies. Her research places special emphasis on dryland ecosystems of the western U.S. with the goal of providing actionable information to land managers.
The Osborne Lab is currently seeking USU undergraduate students interested in gaining research experience with biogeochemical research in the lab and field.
Graduate Students:
Savannah Adkins- Ph.D. Ecology, Biology