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About Catherine
Catherine Zabinski is a Professor of Plant and Soil Ecology in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Minnesota in 1991 and her B.A. in Biology from the College of St. Benedict's in 1983. Throughout her career at Montana State University, where she has served for 25 years as of 2025, Zabinski has focused her research on plant-soil interactions, mycorrhizal ecology, root system dynamics, plant-microbe interactions, and soil processes including decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil health. Her work explores how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi influence plant communities, ecosystem processes, and restoration efforts, particularly in contexts like geothermal soils, invasive species management, and semi-arid cover crops. She advises graduate students in the Ph.D. program in Ecology and Environmental Sciences and contributes to interdisciplinary projects on soil remediation, temperature stress amelioration by mycorrhizae, and assessments of soil health indicators such as water-stable aggregates and nutrient leaching.
Zabinski's scholarly impact is evidenced by over 4,900 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include 'Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ameliorate temperature stress in thermotolerant plants' (Ecology, 2009), 'A meta-analysis of context-dependency in plant response to inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi' (Ecology Letters, 2010), 'Mycorrhizae indirectly enhance competitive effects of an invasive forb on a native bunchgrass' (Ecology, 1999), and 'MycoDB, a global database of plant response to mycorrhizal fungi' (Scientific Data, 2016). She authored the book Amber Waves: The Extraordinary Biography of Wheat, from Wild Grass to World Megacrop (University of Chicago Press, 2020), which examines wheat's ecological and agricultural history and was included in the 2022 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prizes for Excellence in Science Books shortlist. Her honors include the Arthur P. Sloan Fellowship from the Arthur P. Sloan Foundation, the Anna K. Fridley Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society award, MSU Provost's Distinguished Lecturer recognition, and teaching excellence awards. Zabinski has delivered public lectures, such as the 2016 Provost's Lecture on plant root systems and managed communities, and participated in funded projects like SARE grants and NSF-supported research.
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