Growing in a Drier World

Extreme drought is increasing in Texas, leading to unprecedented changes in plant communities across the state. Using 25 years of observations from a unique experimental landscape at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, we examine the winners and losers in these new, drier conditions, and discuss ways to protect our native plants in the face of climate change.

Dr. Griffin received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2019, studying the response of plants and pollinators to habitat corridors, prescribed burning, and other management techniques across restored grasslands in Illinois and Michigan. A year later, he began working with Wildflower Center staff and volunteers as a post-doctoral researcher with the Jha Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. In this capacity, he led a study of the long-term effects of burning and seeding across the Cross Timbers ecoregion of northern Texas and Oklahoma.
As the Center’s first Director of Science and Conservation, Dr. Griffin is charged with increasing the Center’s capacity to positively impact Texas landscapes by creating new opportunities for university students, researchers, and land stewards throughout the state.