• Attachment of vascular epiphytes through ontogeny and across taxonomic groups
• Morphological diversity of diaspores of Epiphytes 
• Environmental influences on the attachment mechanism of the diaspores 

Vascular epiphytes are structurally dependent on their host trees throughout their entire lifetime, yet the mechanisms by which they initially attach to the substrate and later maintain secure attachment remain insufficiently understood. My research investigates this fundamental aspect of epiphyte biology across consecutive life stages from the moment a propagule first lands on a substrate, through the establishment of young seedlings, to the additional mechanical demands on a mature plant.

I work with epiphytic bromeliads of the subfamily Tillandsioideae. A central part of my work concerns the propagule stage, where wind-dispersed seeds bearing plumose coma hairs must land on and remain attached to bark surfaces under varying wind and moisture conditions. I investigate how the morphological design of the coma structures interacts with substrate roughness, substrate curvature, and environmental conditions to determine whether a propagule survives its first encounter with a host tree.

In a parallel line of work, I study root attachment in bromeliad seedlings asking whether the adhesion and mechanical interlocking mechanisms previously documented in orchid and aroid epiphytes also apply to bromeliads, which have fundamentally different root anatomy. Together, these two lines of inquiry aim to produce a mechanistic, ontogeny-spanning understanding of how epiphytes establish themselves in the forest canopy.

Srivastava. S, Joshi. R. K, & Garkoti. S. C. (2023): Carbon and nitrogen allocation in leaf, fine root, soil, and microbial biomass in invasive Prosopis juliflora and native Acacia nilotica in semi-arid forests of the Aravalli hills, Arid Land Research and Management, DOI: 10.1080/15324982.2023.2180456