Welcome!

This is the site for the lab group of Lawren Sack, Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of California, Los Angeles. We study the mechanisms for function and co-existence of plant species– including responses to resources, tolerance of environmental challenges, and competition– as well as the evolution and functional consequences of diversity in plant traits. We explore processes across scales ranging from molecules to ecosystems.  We have a special focus on leaf and whole plant hydraulics traits, drought tolerance, the evolution of trait diversity within lineages, and the responses of species and ecosystems to ongoing climate change. We are also very interested in applications of our research toward forest and plant species conservation under climate change.