Paul A. Steudler
Senior Research Scientist Emeritus
Tel: 508-289-7491
Fax: 508-457-1548
Email: steudler@mbl.edu
B.S. Chemistry, Ohio University, 1965
M.S., Chemistry, University of Oklahoma, 1973
Research Statement
I am interested in the responses of temperate and tropical forest ecosystems to disturbance. In particular, I have studied the effects of hurricanes, changes in nitrogen and sulfur deposition, forest harvest and conversion to agriculture or pasture, abandonment of pastures and regrowth of secondary vegetation and the effects of increased temperature on soil process. I measure element stocks (C, N, P and S) in ecosystems, cycling rates, and the exchanges of trace gases (e.g. CH4, CO, NO, and N2O) between these ecosystems and the atmosphere in an effort to answer questions about how natural and human disturbances affect global C, N, P and S dynamics.
A second research theme is to use the environmental and process level information gathered from field and laboratory investigations outlined above to develop predictive trace gas flux models that allow extrapolation to regional and global scales. In a broader perspective, my research is directed toward understanding how disturbed terrestrial systems contribute to global climate change and how natural terrestrial systems will respond to changes in global climate such as temperature, precipitation and CO2 concentration.