Rate My Professor Denise Finney

Dr. Denise Finney is Associate Professor of Biology and Chair of the Biology Department at Ursinus College. She received her BA from Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio, MS from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina, and PhD from Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Finney's laboratory investigates the benefits humans derive from the environment by applying principles from plant community ecology, soil ecology, and biogeochemistry. The research identifies and tests ecologically-based approaches to managing agricultural fields, urban green spaces, and other human-stewarded ecosystems. A key emphasis is on how biodiversity promotes ecosystem functions such as primary production. Current investigations focus on increasing crop diversity in agriculture to bolster food production and diminish environmental pollution arising from agricultural practices. Her research specializations include agroecology, biodiversity-ecosystem service relationships, nitrogen management, carbon cycling, and soil health.

Finney was awarded the 2022 Teaching Excellence Environmental Award by the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy for incorporating service learning into her courses to advance local environmental benefits. Her contributions to the literature feature prominent publications such as 'A framework for evaluating ecosystem services provided by cover crops in agroecosystems' (Agricultural Systems, 2014), 'Biomass production and carbon:nitrogen ratio influence ecosystem services from diverse cover crop mixtures' (Agronomy Journal, 2016), 'Functional diversity in cover crop polycultures increases multifunctionality of an agricultural system' (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017), 'Living cover crops have immediate impacts on soil microbial community structure and function' (Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 2017), 'Managing the tradeoff between nitrogen supply and retention with cover crop mixtures' (Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2017), 'Ecosystem services and disservices are bundled in simple and diverse cover cropping systems' (Agricultural and Environmental Letters, 2017), 'Fungal community shifts in soils with varied cover crop treatments and edaphic properties' (Scientific Reports, 2020), and 'Weeds in cover crops: context and management considerations' (Agriculture, 2021). These works elucidate the dynamics of cover crops in sustainable agriculture, influencing practices related to nitrogen dynamics, soil microbial communities, and weed management.