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Assistant Professor of Geography
Director, Landscape Ecology at Penn State (LEAPS)
318 Walker Building
University Park, PA 16802
smithwick@psu.edu
Landscape and ecosystem ecology, Disturbance ecology & disturbance synergies, Ecosystem simulation models, Climate change and ecosystem carbon storage, Fire and soil nitrogen, Microbial community composition and function, Spatial statistics
I work at the interface of landscape and ecosystem ecology, focusing on the influence of spatial pattern on ecosystem function. More generally, my research cuts through traditional disciplinary bounds to ask synthetic questions about ecosystem function through space and time. I am interested in the relevance and consequences of these patterns for improving understanding of earth processes.
Currently, I am exploring the consequences of fire-generated spatial patterns on soil biogeochemistry, microbial communities, and carbon cycling. I am interested in fire because, not only is it a fundamental earth force, but it also reflects patterns in land use and ecosystem processes and creates heterogeneous landscapes. It is also an increasingly important agent of earth-ecosystem exchanges and is a large part of local, national, and global ecosystem management.
My research in miombo woodlands in Zambia explored temporal variations in global carbon emissions, work which highlighted socio-environmental challenges in Africa. The model I developed during my Ph.D. predicts how carbon storage changes under altered disturbance regimes. I also modeled how non-linear interactions across forest edges result in emergent behavior at broad scales, contributing to a greater understanding of scaling issues. Leading to a better valuation of ecosystem services, I also calculated that future carbon sequestration potential in the Pacific Northwest could be worth billions of dollars.
My recent research has taken me to Yellowstone National Park and Alaska where I have been researching the consequences of severe fire. My subsequent research showed that knowledge of microbial community composition can improve statistical models of soil function. Moreover, my research in post-fire forests in Alaska showed that drivers of soil nitrogen vary at multiple scales. Currently, I am using the Century ecosystem model to forecast changes in carbon and nitrogen cycles in Yellowstone National Park under climate change scenarios. This research demonstrates that extensive disturbances create heterogeneity that modifies how forests will respond to altered climate change at landscape scales.
Turner, MG, Smithwick EAH, Metzger KL, Tinker DB, and Romme WH. Inorganic nitrogen availability following severe stand-replacing fire in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, inaugural paper, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 104 (12): 4782-4789.
Smithwick EAH. 2006. Editorial: Role of microbial communities in mediating ecosystem response to disturbance, Special Issue in Plant and Soil 289:1-3
Smithwick EAH. 2006. Gentle introduction to complexity on landscapes. Book Review for Ecology 87(11):2954-2955
Smithwick EAH, Harmon ME, Domingo JB. 2006. Changing temporal patterns of forest carbon stores and net ecosystem carbon balance: The stand to landscape transformation, Landscape Ecology 22(1): 77-94.
Smithwick EAH, Mack MC, Turner MG, Chapin III FS, Zhu J, Balser TC. 2005. Spatial heterogeneity and soil nitrogen dynamics after severe fire in a black spruce (Picea mariana) forest, Alaska: Distinct controls at different scales. Biogeochemistry 76: 517-537
Smithwick EAH, Turner MG, Mack MC, Chapin III, FS. 2005. Post-fire soil nitrogen cycling in northern conifer landscapes affected by severe, stand-replacing fires. Ecosystems 8: 163-181
Smithwick EAH, Turner MG, Metzger KL, Balser TC. 2005. Variation in NH4+ mineralization and microbial communities with stand age in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests, Yellowstone National Park (USA). Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37: 1546-1559
Homann PS, Harmon ME, Remillard SM, Smithwick EAH. 2005. What the soil reveals: Maximum ecosystem C stores of the Pacific Northwest region, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 220: 270-283
Miller JM, Turner MG, Smithwick EAH, Dent LC, Stanley EH. 2004. Extrapolation: the science of predicting ecological patterns and processes. Bioscience 54(4): 310-320
Smithwick EAH, Harmon ME, Domingo JB. 2003. Modeling multi-scale effects of light limitations and edge-induced mortality on carbon stores in forest landscapes. Landscape Ecology 18(7): 701-721
Korontzi S, Ward DE, Susott RA, Yokelson RJ, Justice CO, Hobbs PV, Smithwick EAH, Hao WM. 2003. Seasonal variation and ecosystem dependence of emission factors for selected trace gases and PM2.5 for southern African savanna fires. Journal of Geophysical Research 108(D24), 4758
Smithwick EAH, Harmon ME, Acker SA, Remillard SM. 2002. Potential upper bounds of carbon stores in the Pacific Northwest. Ecological Applications 12(5): 1303-1317
Hoffa EA, Ward DE, Hao WM, Susott RA, Wakimoto RH. 1999. Seasonality of carbon emissions from biomass burning in a Zambian savanna. Journal of Geophysical Research 104: 13,841 - 13,853