[Plantsci] SPLS Seminar – Dr. Aidee Guzman (Stanford University) | Feb 24, 4:00 PM

[Favela, Alonso - (alonsof)]

Hello SPLS Community,

I’m excited to share that I will be hosting Dr. Aidee Guzman (Department of Biology, Stanford University) for this week’s SPLS Seminar Series on Tuesday, February 24th at 4:00 PM in Marley Room 230 (Zoom option available).

Dr. Guzman is an agroecologist whose research explores how biodiversity across scales, from microbes to ecosystems, can be leveraged to enhance agricultural resilience.

 Dr. Guzman still has availability for one-on-one meetings during her visit. If you would like to meet with her, please contact me directly for her itinerary.

If you are unable to attend in person, please join us via Zoom:

When: 4:00–5:00 PM, February 24, 2026
Location: Marley 230
Zoom link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83742635768
Password: SPLS2026

I hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a fantastic seminar and discussion. (Flyer attached in the email).

Best,
Alonso

________________________________

Title: Role of Crop Diversification and Fungal Interactions in Agricultural Resilience

Abstract:
Agricultural diversification is widely promoted as a pathway to resilient food production, yet the biological mechanisms linking crop diversity to ecosystem functioning are still not well understood. Increasing evidence points to belowground symbioses, especially arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), as key players that reorganize plant interactions and shape how plants respond to both biotic and abiotic stress. In this talk, I examine how crop diversification reshapes AMF communities and how variation in fungal life histories influences plant traits, multi-trophic interactions, and tolerance to environmental stress. Taken together, this work suggests that crop diversification may promote resilience by altering fungal community composition and traits that regulate ecological interactions. I conclude by discussing how a mechanistic understanding of plant-fungal interactions can inform the design of resilient agroecosystems and the challenges of translating biodiversity-based strategies into practice within real farming systems.

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Alonso Favela
Assistant Professor | School of Plant Sciences
University of Arizona
favelalab.com<http://favelalab.com/> | alonsof at arizona.edu<mailto:alonsof at arizona.edu> | https://arizona.zoom.us/my/dr.favela
Pronouns: He/Him/His

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