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Northern Research Station
11 Campus Blvd., Suite 200
Newtown Square, PA 19073
(610) 557-4017
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You are here: NRS Home / Scientists & Staff / Chris Swanston
Scientists & Staff

[image:] Chris Swanston Chris Swanston

Title: Research Ecologist
Unit: Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences
Address: Northern Research Station
410 MacInnes Dr
Houghton, MI 49931
Phone: (906) 482-6303 x20
E-mail: Contact Chris Swanston

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Education

  • Ph.D. in Forest Science, Oregon State University, 2000.
  • M.S. in Forest Science, Oregon State University, 1996.
  • B.S. in Forest Ecology and Soils (NRPI), Humboldt State University, 1993.

Civic & Professional Affiliations

Current Research

My focus is on a crucial link in carbon management: soil carbon storage and flux. I study how organic debris (carbon) enters forest soil and is subsequently stabilized or "lost," and how this varies with forest ecology, soil mineralogy, management, natural disturbance, and climate. Much of my work uses different isotopes of carbon (14C, 13C) to increase the sensitivity of estimates of carbon flux. I am currently engaged in the following collaborative research:

  • Primary inputs and flow paths of belowground carbon in eastern oak forests (The Enriched Background Isotope Study).
  • The nature and sources of dissolved organic carbon in a coastal grassland chronosequence with changes in season and depth.
  • Soil organic matter stabilization in a transect with differing forest types, mineralogy, and climate in the Pacific Northwest.
  • The mechanistic role of nitrogen in the long-term stabilization of carbon as influenced by mineralogy.
  • The influence of fire and charcoal on forest soil carbon storage and flux.

Why is This Important

Soil carbon is a fundamental component of forest productivity and structure, strongly influencing soil fertility, resistance to erosion and compaction, and water storage and availability. Soil carbon also plays a large role in global fluxes of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas. Globally, there is at least twice as much carbon in the soil as in the atmosphere, and two thirds of forest carbon is in the soil. Understanding the forms and fate of forest soil carbon can help us predict, mitigate, and adapt to the effects of disturbance at wide spatial and temporal scales.

Future Research

In future research I hope to: study the effects of invasive soil organisms on the carbon distribution and fluxes in northeastern forest soils; characterize the influence of highly intensive forest management (for bioenergy) on soil carbon stocks; continue studying the roles of fire ecology and different carbon inputs in forest carbon cycles.

Featured Publications

Additional Online Publications

Last Modified: 02/15/2012