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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 / Leslie Brandt
Scientists & Staff

[image:] Leslie Brandt Leslie Brandt

Title: Climate Change Specialist
Unit: Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences
Address: NRS
1992 Folwell Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
Phone: 651-649-5016
E-mail: Contact Leslie Brandt

Jump to Publications

Education

  • Ph.D., Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota
  • B.A., Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College

Civic & Professional Affiliations

  • Member: American Geophysical Union, Ecological Society of America

Current Research

As a Climate Change Specialist for NIACS and the Forest Service Eastern Region, I work to bridge climate change research with forest management. My primary responsibility is to coordinate the Central Hardwoods Climate Change Response Framework Project. As coordinator, I am working to develop an ecosystem vulnerability assessment for Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. We will use this information to develop climate change adaptation strategies and tactics for forests in the central hardwoods region.

I also provide general outreach and support for climate change activities in the Forest Service Eastern Region. This includes developing web resources in support of the Forest Service Climate Change Scorecard, developing classroom-based climate change training, and keeping the National Forests in the Eastern Region up-to-date with policies and research outcomes related to climate change and forest management.

Finally, I continue to stay engaged with some basic research in ecosystem ecology. My past research has focused on understanding the role photodegradation (breakdown by solar radiation) plays in carbon and nitrogen cycling in desert and grassland ecosystems. This poorly understood process can play a significant role in the carbon cycle when biological activity is low and solar radiation is high, and has important implications for how carbon cycling may be altered under a changing climate.

Featured Publications

Other Publications by Leslie Brandt *

  • Butler, Patricia; Janowiak, Maria; Brandt, Leslie; Swanston, Chris. 2011. Lessons learned from the Climate Change Response Framework Project in Northern Wisconsin. (portable document format (pdf)- You may download a free pdf reader from Adobe.)
  • Brandt, L.A., J.Y. King, S.E. Hobbie, D.G. Milchunas, and R.L. Sinsabaugh. 2010. The role of photodegradation in surface litter decomposition across a grassland ecosystem precipitation gradient. Ecosystems 13: 765-781, doi: 10.1007/s10021-010-9353-2.
  • Brandt, L.A. 2009. The Role of Photodegradation in Plant Litter Decomposition in Grassland Ecosystems. PhD. Thesis. University of Minnesota.
  • Brandt, L. A., C. Bohnet, and J. Y. King. 2009. Photochemically induced carbon dioxide production as a mechanism for carbon loss from plant litter in arid ecosystems, Journal of Geophysical Research, 114, G02004, doi:10.1029/2008JG000772.
  • Brandt, L. A., J. Y. King, and D. G. Milchunas. 2007. Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Litter Decomposition Depend on Precipitation and Litter Chemistry in a Shortgrass Steppe Ecosystem." Global Change Biology 13.10: 2193-205.
  • Parton W, Silver WL, Burke IC, Grassens L, Harmon ME, Currie WS, King, J.Y. Adair, E.C.,Brandt, L.A. , Hart, S.C. , Fasth, B. 2007. Global-Scale Similarities in Nitrogen Release Patterns during Long-Term Decomposition. Science 315.5810: 361-4.
  • Brandt, L. A., and E. W. Koch. 2003. Periphyton as a UV-B Filter on Seagrass Leaves: A Result of Different Transmittance in the UV-B and PAR Ranges. Aquatic Botany 76.4: 317-27.

*Due to policy or copyright restrictions, we are unable to provide full-text versions of these publications. Please check with your local library or Contact Leslie Brandt to inquire about reprints.

Last Modified: 02/15/2012