Francesca Cotrufo is a professor in the Colorado State University Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.   

She is a soil ecologist and biogeochemist internationally recognized for her work in litter decomposition and soil organic matter dynamics. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms and drivers of soil organic matter’s formation and persistence and their response to global environmental changes and disturbances.  

Her work helps inform climate and land use policy and management, and Cotrufo pursues applied research aimed at proposing soil management practices that regenerate healthy soils and mitigate climate change.  

Cotrufo earned her Ph.D in terrestrial ecosystem ecology from Lancaster University in the U.K. Her work has been featured in publications including Science, PNAS, Nature, Plant and Soil and the European Journal of Soil Science.