Research Interests

Dr. David Burke is the Vice President for Science and Conservation at Holden Forests & Gardens, and the principal investigator of Holden’s soil ecology lab. Dr. Burke is a leader in the study of beech leaf disease, a new forest pathogen sweeping across North America from its epicenter in northeastern Ohio. His work has helped identify the means of the disease’s spread, and his continuing work aims to reveal the mechanisms of the disease as well as a path to breeding trees resistant to the trees. Although he’s recently served as a forest pathologist out of need, Dr. Burke is a soil ecologist at heart, primarily interested in the interactions between plants and the microorganisms that live in the soil like the mycorrhizal fungi that form mutually beneficial relationships with plants. These mycorrhizal fungi may be key to the health of many natural communities, so a better understanding of their diversity, how they interact with plants and other soil microbes, and how this in turn affects ecosystem health is necessary for the future sound management of natural systems.

Select Publications

Gordon DAR, Burke DJ, Carrino-Kyker SR, Bashian-Victoroff C, Mabrouk AI, and Van Stan JT (2025). Community composition of microbial eukaryotes transported by stemflow from Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (American Beech) trees in Northeastern Ohio (USA). Microbial Ecology, 88, 93 (2025).

Ahmad S, Burke DJ, Carrino-Kyker SR, Medeiros JS, and Burns JH (2025). Fungal communities driven by Rhododendron species correlate with pathogen protection. Plant and Soil,

Stuble KL, Burke DJ, Harbol SC, Knisely C, Miller Mecaskey J, Wagner AS, Watson M, and Mueller KE (2025). Restoration at the intersection of science and outreach—The Working Woods Learning Forest. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 6, e70088.

Shepherd BL, Burke DJ, and Stuble KL (2025) Fagus grandifolia growth and mortality a decade after the emergence of beech leaf disease. Trees Forests and People 20 (2025) 100836.

Colbert-Pitts, M, Kantor MR, Jansen A, Burke DJ, and Vieira P (2025), Cellular Dynamics of Beech Leaf Disease on Fagus sylvatica. Plant Pathology, 74: 1389-1406.

Burke DJ, Pitts MC, Macy T, Carrino-Kyker SR, and Martin D (2025) The presence and distribution of nematode Litylenchus crenatae ssp. mccannii, the causative agent of beech leaf disease, in forest stands across Ohio. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, (2025) 197:478,

Gordon DAR, Burke DJ, Carrino-Kyker SR, Bashian-Victoroff C, Mabrouk AI, and Van Stan II JT (2025) Distress signals in stemflow can inform the dynamics of plant disease epidemics. Forest Ecology and Management, 585 (2025) 122674,

Jahn, LV, Carrino-Kyker SR, Busby AR, and Burke DJ (2025) Phosphorous Fertilization and Soil pH Affect the Growth of Deciduous Trees in a Temperate Hardwood Forest. Ecosphere 16(2): e70184.

Benard MF, Burke DJ, Carrino-Kyker SR, Krynak K, and Relyea RA (2024) Effects of amphibian genetic diversity on ecological communities. Oecologia (2024) 205: 655-667.

Burke DJ, Lumsden C, Carrino-Kyker SR, Medeiros J, and Danielson S (2024) The phyllosphere microbiome in Tsuga canadensis: Relationships with resistance to the insect Adelges tsugae and effects of the pesticide dinotefuran. Phytobiomes Journal 0

Burke DJ, Carrino-Kyker SR, Hoke AJ, Galloway E, Martin D, and Chick L (2024) Effects of the nematode Litylenchus crenatae subsp. mccannii and beech leaf disease on leaf fungal and bacterial communities on Fagus grandifolia (American beech). Applied and Environmental Microbiology 90 (6):e00142-24.

Carrino-Kyker SR, Parker AL, Medeiros JS, Hewins CR, Novotny GR, Krebs SL, and Burke DJ (2024) Soil microbial communities alter resource allocation in Fagus grandifolia when challenged with a pathogen. Symbiosis.

Loyd AL, Cowles RS, Borden MA, LaMondia JA, Mitkowski N, Faubert H, Burke D, Hausman C, Volk, D, Littlejohn C, Stiller A, Rigsby CM, Brantley B, and Fite K (2024) Exploring Novel Management Methods for Beech Leaf Disease, an Emerging Threat to Forests and Landscapes. Journal Environmental Horticulture 42(1) 1-13

Jahn, LV, Carrino-Kyker SR, and Burke DJ (2023) Interannual variation in spring weather conditions as a driver of spring wildflower coverage: A 15-year perspective from an old growth temperate forest. AoB PLANTS, Vol 15, Issue 6, plad078, *Honored as Editor’s Choice.

Dawson-Glass E, Hewins CR, Burke DJ, Souza LA, and Stuble KL (2023) Warming-induced shifts in the decomposer community mitigate plant community compositional shifts’ impact on decomposition. Functional Ecology, 2023;00:1–15. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.14404

Liu Y, Burke DJ, Medeiros JS, Carrino-Kyker SR, and Burns JH (2023) Phosphite indirectly mediates protection against root rot disease via altering soil fungal community in Rhododendron species. Plant Soil (2023).

Burke DJ, Hoke AJ, Reed S, Martin D, Carrino-Kyker SR, Pitts MC, and Battagin S (2023) Development of primers specific for detection of Litylenchus crenatae, the causative agent of beech leaf disease, in plant tissue. Plant Disease, 107: 3354-3361

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