Osvaldo Sala

Osvaldo Sala

Title & Affiliation(s):

  • Regents’ Professor, Arizona State University
  • Director, Global Drylands Center, Arizona State University
  • Julie A. Wrigley Professor of Life Sciences, Arizona State University

Primary Research Interests:

  • carbon and nitrogen cycles, scenario development

Selected Publications:

  • Gherardi LA, and Sala OE. 2019. Effect of interannual precipitation variability on dryland productivity: A global synthesis. Global Change Biol. 25: 269-276.
  • Gherardi LA, and Sala OE. 2015. Enhanced precipitation variability decreases grass- and increases shrub-productivity. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 112: 12735-12740.
  • Gherardi LA, and Sala OE. 2015. Enhanced interannual precipitation variability increases plant functional diversity that in turn ameliorates negative impact on productivity. Ecol Lett. 18:1293-1300.
  • Anadón JD, Sala OE, Turner BL, and Bennett EM. 2014. The effect of woody plant encroachment on livestock production: a comparison of North and South America. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 111: 12948-12953.
  • Sala OE, Gherardi LA, Reichmann L, Jobbágy E, and Peters D. 2012. Legacies of precipitation fluctuations on primary production: theory and data synthesis. Phil Trans R Soc B. 367: 3135-3144.

Synergistic Activities:

  • President: Ecological Society of America (2019-present)
  • External Advisory Board: School of Sustainability, Colorado State University (2012-present)
  • Member of governmental advisory boards: LTER National Advisory Board (2010-13);
  • LTER Diversity Committee (2016-present)
  • Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education (2007-09)
  • Member of Scientific Steering Committees: International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) (1994-96), Diversitas (1995-01); SCOPE, President, Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (1998-01)