Duncan N.L. Menge

Research Description

Research in the Menge lab addresses fundamental questions in ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry using theory, observations, experiments, and data synthesis. Although much of the focus is basic science, our work is highly relevant to pressing societal concerns such as global climate change and eutrophication because of the intimate connections between nutrients, plants, and greenhouse gases.

Research Keywords: Ecosystem, Ecosystem ecology, Biogeochemistry, Theoretical ecology, Global change, Evolutionary ecology, Complex systems, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Nitrogen fixation, Nutrient cycles, Nutrient limitation, Nutrient loss, Ecosystem development, Succession, Stable isotopes, Adaptive dynamics, Arctic, Tundra, Forest, Climate

Representative Publications

Menge DNL, Kou-Giesbrecht S, Taylor BN, Akana PR, Butler A, Carreras Pereira KA, Cooley SS, Lau VM, Lauterbach EL. 2023. Terrestrial phosphorus cycling: response to climatic change. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 54: 429-49. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110421-102458

Menge DNL, Wolf AA, Funk JL, Perakis SS, Akana PR, Arkebauer R, Bytnerowicz TA, Carreras Pereira KA, Huddell AM, Kou-Giesbrecht S, Ortiz SK. 2023. Tree symbioses sustain nitrogen fixation despite excess nitrogen supply. Ecological Monographs 93: e1562. https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecm.1562

Menge, DNL, CR Reis Ely, SS Perakis, S Kou-Giesbrecht, CC Cleveland, SC Reed, BN Taylor, SA Batterman, TE Crews, KA Dynarski, JL Funk, M Gei, KL Griffin, MJ Gundale, DF Herridge, SE Jovan, MB Peoples, J Piipponen, E Rodriguez-Caballero, VG Salmon, FM Soper, AP Staccone, B Weber, AA Wolf, & N Wurzburger. 2026. Global carbon investment in terrestrial biological nitrogen fixation. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 40: e2026GB009098.

Reis Ely, CR, SS Perakis, CC Cleveland, DNL Menge, SC Reed, BN Taylor, SA Batterman, CM Clark, TE Crews, KA Dynarski, M Gei, MJ Gundale, DF Herridge, SE Jovan, S Kou-Giesbrecht, MB Peoples, J Piipponen, E Rodriguez-Caballero, VG Salmon, FM Soper, AP Staccone, B Weber, CA Williams, & N Wurzburger. 2025. Global terrestrial nitrogen fixation and its modification by agriculture. Nature 643: 705-711.

Kou-Giesbrecht, S, CR Reis Ely, SS Perakis, CC Cleveland, DNL Menge, SC Reed, BN Taylor, SA Batterman, TE Crews, KA Dynarski, M Gei, MJ Gundale, DF Herridge, SE Jovan, MB Peoples, J Piipponen, E Rodriguez-Caballero, VG Salmon, FM Soper, AP Staccone, B Weber, CA Williams, & N Wurzburger. 2025. Overestimated natural biological nitrogen fixation translates to an exaggerated CO₂ fertilization effect in Earth System Models. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 122: e2514628122.