[5][2] With a focus on ecosystem ecology and biogeochemistry, her research is often aimed at better understanding the soil system to mitigate the effects of climate change.
[2] A significant portion of her work has focused on tropical ecosystems, their soils, plants,[6] and how nutrients and carbon cycle through them.
The Marin Carbon Project uses science to improve land management, to think about the whole system and thus consider and value ecosystem services such as soil's C sequestration ability, and make farm and ranch management more centered around carbon sequestration.
[7][8][5][9] Silver's research on the biogeochemistry of tropical plants has been published in multiple academic journals.
[16][17][18][19] Silver's research was featured in the book Physiological Ecology of Tropical Plants by Ulrich Lüttge.