Email

Preferred: metha.klock@sjsu.edu

Telephone

Preferred: (408) 924-5427

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Studies

Education

PhD, Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University

MS, Forestry, Louisiana State University

BA, Liberal Arts, Sarah Lawrence College

Bio

Dr. Metha Klock is a specialist in invasive species biology and restoration ecology. Her research focuses on clarifying the mechanisms that drive invasive plant establishment in an effort to inform and improve environmental restoration. She is particularly interested in the role that interspecific interactions play in species invasions and has targeted plants in the legume family that have been introduced to, colonized, and invaded natural areas in California. She focuses specifically on the interaction between non-native legumes and their nitrogen-fixing soil symbionts called rhizobia, to elucidate the mechanisms that have enabled these species to invade novel regions. In addition, Dr. Klock has studied the life history of a highly invasive non-native shrub in Louisiana, and evaluated the nitrogen-fixing potential of legume cover crops for organic farming.

Dr. Klock received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Louisiana State University (LSU), her M.A. in Forestry from LSU, and her B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College. She served as a Post-Doctoral Associate at Cornell University studying cover crops and sustainable agriculture and has taught courses in biological sciences and natural history at the University of Louisville, Mount Mercy University, and the University of Iowa.

Links

https://mmklock.wordpress.com/

Courses Taught

Life on a Changing Planet (EnvS 10)

Environmental Restoration (EnvS 187)

Advanced Environmental Restoration (EnvS 191)

Research and Proposal Development (EnvS 297)