Rachel Keen

I am an ecohydrologist that focuses on plant-soil-water interactions in grasslands, savannas, and shrublands. I joined K-State as an assistant professor in June, 2026. My work primarily takes place in the Great Plains ecoregion of the central United States and savanna / grassland ecosystems in northeastern South Africa. I enjoy doing interdisciplinary science that incorporates ideas, methods, and experimental approaches from soil hydrology, plant ecophysiology, and soil science to explore how vegetation influences critical zone function, particularly in the context of changing climate, land-use, and land-cover. I'm interested in questions that link plant form and function, ecosystem water pools and fluxes, and vital biogeochemical cycles (C and nutrients) that rely on water availability.