Coastal Rainforest Margins Research Network
In a warming world, the Arctic is often cited as the leading edge of climate change. But the coastal temperate rainforests of North and South America may qualify as another frontier: while the Arctic is warming at a faster rate, these temperate rainforests are crossing key temperature thresholds that may trigger sudden shifts in ecosystemContinue reading North to South: Freeze and fire trends in American coastal temperate rainforests
Last week, over 30 scientists from across the US, Canada, and as far as Germany stood on the soggy wetlands of Juneau’s Douglas Island during the third Coastal Rainforest Margins Research Network workshop. Though everyone stared down at the same moss-covered peat, the group was thinking about the ecosystem from distinct perspectives. The structure ofContinue reading Thinking Deep: Land, sea, and soil connections at CRMRN Workshop 3
Change spurs growth, even for forests. Disturbances such as landslides, wind, and wildfires are part of the ecosystem dynamics of a region. Over a short timescale, disturbances are known to decrease carbon stored as forest biomass, by burning and uprooting vegetation and disrupting growth. But across broad time and spatial scales, exposure to disturbances mayContinue reading Do ecosystem disturbances enhance forest carbon storage in Southeast Alaska?
Applications for Workshop 3: Transformation and Transport of Elements and Compounds from Terrestrial to Aquatic Systems in Juneau are due this week. The workshop will be held in Juneau, Alaska on March 25 – 28, 2019. To Apply: Please fill out the application by January 25, 2019 More information on the workshop. For questions and additional information, please contact: Allison Bidlack
The University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is accepting applications for a post-doctoral research associate to study mineral weathering, soil development, and clay mineralogy in forested ecosystems of the Alaskan coastal temperate rainforest. The position is based in Juneau, working closely the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNWRS). The ResearchContinue reading Apply: UAF soil post-doctoral fellow position
Lauren Oakes, a conservation scientist and author, conducted her Ph.D. research on the decline of yellow-cedar in the forests of the north Pacific coastal temperate rainforest. CRMRN investigators Allison Bidlack, Brian Buma, and Sarah Bisbing are continuing to work with Lauren and others on expanded regional ecological studies of this climate-impacted species. This fall, OakesContinue reading Yellow-cedar research in the spotlight: In Search of the Canary Tree by Lauren Oakes
Large, climate-sensitive soil carbon stocks mapped with pedology-informed machine learning in the North Pacific coastal temperate rainforest CRMRN postdoc Gavin McNicol recently published an assessment of soil organic carbon stock across the north Pacific coastal temperate rainforest in Environmental Research Letters. Using a machine learning approach, McNicol found that there are 4.5 Petagrams of carbonContinue reading CRMRN publishes a transboundary soil organic carbon stock assessment in the north PCTR
Coastal Margins scientists and collaborators David Butman (University of Washington), Miguel Goni (Oregon State University), and Heida Diefenderfer (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)) took part in the first STAR workshop supported by PNNL in Richland, WA. STAR, or System for Terrestrial-Aquatic Research, represents an exciting new area of supported research designed to connect land toContinue reading CRMRN Scientists help support research at the Terrestrial – Aquatic Interface
A dataset of the watersheds draining to the rainforest margin along the Pacific coast of North America is now available online in the Hakai Metadata Catalogue. The dataset spans from Glacier Bay in Southeast Alaska to the Russian River watershed in Northern California and constitutes the highest resolution known watersheds dataset currently available for this region.
CRMRN scientists Bill Floyd and Brian Menounos will lead a joint $2.4-million research project between the University of Northern British Columbia and Vancouver Island University. Supported by the Hakai Institute, the project will focus on understanding the role of seasonal snow cover and glaciers in the hydrology of key watersheds along B.C.’s Central and SouthernContinue reading Coastal Margins scientists to lead Hakai Cryosphere Node at UNBC
