Progress 11/01/18 to 10/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:As a training grant, the primary target audience for this work is our graduate student fellows. Additional target audiences include graduate students that were not fellows, but benefited from the classes and experiences that were made available as part of our training program. Secondary targets included forest managers who might use critical zone science in their management planning, and scientists interested in forest management or training graduate students in this area. Changes/Problems:In spring and fall of 2020 COVID caused us to move some of our classes from in-person to virtual. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Since this is a training program, all of the accomplishments described above reflect opportunities for training and professional development. Likewise, all of the presentations and publications listed in our "Products" sections reflect opportunities for training and development. All of our Fellows were supported in presenting at conferences and workshops and all of them have published peer reviewed papers. All students completed our program personal development plan at the start of their program and updated this plan annually. All fellows were engaged with shadowing experiences with non-academic professionals. Some specific highlights for each fellow are: Taylor Blackmanled a field tour for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Association. He engaged with an EPA mid-Atlantic working group seeking to establish long-term wetland research he is an active participant in an EPA and PA DEP wetland working group.He also mentored two undergraduates and gave a presentation on vernal pools to an undergraduate soil microbiology class. Taylor also received his Wetland Professional in Training certification, which is the first step to becoming a Professional Wetland Scientist. Marissa Koppcompleted professional development opportunities in science communication (COMPASS Science Communication Workshop) and teaching, including being instructor of record for a science writing class. She gained leadership experience as Program Chair Representative for the Ecology Graduate Student Organization. She served on a steering committee to host a two-day Lancaster and Lebanon Watershed Science Symposium and Forum in November 2021. She also engaged with several groups on water quality issues including, the Warwick Township Planner, a coalition focused on Agroforestry in the Chesapeake Bay, Denise Alvingworked with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Climate Change Committee, and she shadowed two leaders in the Pennsylvania State Forest system. She gained leadership experience as the president of the departmental Graduate Student Organization president, a role that also included engagement with faculty hiring interviews. She attended the North American Dendroecological Fieldweek (NADEF) twice to learned techniques for collection and analysis of wood anatomy from tree cores. Denise used IRTA funds to travel to visit several Critical Zone Observatories there, which enabled her to learn about CZO science in Mediterranean climates. Rachel Cruz-Perezhas had the opportunity to mentor an undergraduate researcher who is presenting their work at a local conference this fall. She has a leadership role in the Ecology Graduate Student Organization, which includes representing students on the program executive committee where key decisions are made Her IRTA through this grant was to Puerto Rico, because she wanted to learn more about tropical forests. The IRTA resulted in numerous professional development opportunities. She attended the Luquillo Long-term Ecological Research Program (LUQ-LTER) Annual Meeting and the Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) Annual Meeting. She initiated a collaboration with the TRACE team and had the opportunity to mentor three undergraduate students from Macalester College. In Spring 23, she traveled to the Navajo Nation in Arizona and participated in an outreach activity at the Ganado High School. She shared her academic and personal trajectory with senior students to motivate them to pursue higher education and serve as an example that it is possible to achieve our goals, even in the face of adversity. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Dissemination products have already been highlighted in other sections. A key dissemination product for forest managers and scientists was the publication of Kopp et al. 2022 in a top journal (Forest Ecology and Management), outlining what our students have learned about how CZ science and aid forest management. We also disseminated that information in the numerous webinars, seminars, workshops, and outreach events listed in our products and professional development sections. We disseminated our curricula broadly to the PSU graduate student community and reached students beyond our Fellows, and into the future by establishing a new standing class. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Overarching goal: To train three PhD graduates that are leaders in Critical Zone (CZ) management and diversify the workforce. We exceeded this goal, training four PhD students that are emerging leaders in CZ management. Our students were also culturally diverse, includingstudents that self-identifyas women, veterans, Latinx, and LBGTQ. All of these students are moving successfully through their degree programs. Evidence that these students are becoming leaders in the fields come from their accomplishments and engagement. Taylor Blackman is engaged with PA state management of vernal pools. Marissa Kopp has won awards for her research and her teaching, and folled her NNF Fellowship with anNIFA Predoctoral Fellowship. Denise Alving is leading state forest managers in managing forest for climate change and also followed her NNF Fellowship with aNIFA Predoctoral Fellowship. Rachel Cruz Perez is our newest Fellow, but she has already taken on leadership roles and built an independent network of researchers at tropical forest CZOs. Goal 1: Three fellows will matriculate into one of three degree programs. We met this goal, with one student in Forest resources, one in Soil Science, and two in Ecology. We were able to recruit 4 fellows rather than three because one of our fellows moved to a NIFA Predoctoral Fellowship. Goal 2: Add coursework and experiential learning in several core competencies. This goal was met by offering three new classes over the duration of the grant, one of which became a permanently listed class at Penn State. All of these classes included experiential learning and addressed our listed core competencies. In addition, outside of the classroom, all four of our Fellows had shadowing experiences of non-academic professionals that were experiential learning experiences. Two of our fellows (Alving, Cruz-Perez)completed IRTAs for further experiential learning, and two (Kopp and Cruz-Perez) completed internships. We elaborate on some of these experiential learning opportunities in more detail in the "opportunities for professional development" section. Goal 3:Fellows will be embedded within the Susquehanna-Shale Hills CZ Observatory community. All of the fellows became embedded in the Shale Hills CZO community through field trips, research, classes, and team workshops. The Fellow's research projects include work within the Shale Hills Catchment or building on discoveries there.Alving's research builds on the geology bytree interactions observed at the CZO, and her field sites are in an adjacent forest, using the CZO catchment as a benchmark. Kopp has conducted several research projects within the Shale Hills watershed focused on topographic effects on soil respiration. This work is collaborative with many faculty on the CZO team, and her co-authors on published and in progress papers include geoscientists, meteorologists, and engineers from the CZO community. Cruz is also working on soil CO2 data from the Shale Hills catchment, which will lead to a comparable interaction with the CZO community.Blackman's research builds on the topography bywater interactions studied in our small watershed but translates them to understanding vernal pools.He has, thus, expanded the CZO community. Goal 4: Trainees will complete the first-ever CZ Management plan. We met this goal wth the publication of Kopp et al. (2022), which is listed in our publications products. Rather than designing a plan to manage our local forest, students felt they would have more impact by reviewing forest management plans from around the country and offering forest managers a broad view of the value of Critical Zone Science for management planning. Goal 5:We will use a variety of standard and innovative approaches to recruit at least one underrepresented minority student into our program. As planned, we used intentional recruiting approaches that were varied and effective. These included attending the SACNAS meeting and recruiting through HBCUs. Also noted above, our approach was effective in recruiting students from groups underrepresented in forest management.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Primka, E.J. IV, Adams, T.S., Buck, A., Forsythe, B., Harper, J., Kopp, M., Kaye, J., and D.M. Eissenstat. 2023. Temporal patterns of fine root dynamics have little influence on seasonal soil CO2 efflux in a mixed, mesic forest. Ecosphere, 14(10), e4670.
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Progress 11/01/21 to 10/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this work is our graduate student fellows. A secondary target is forest managers who might use critical zone science in their management planning. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Since this is a training program, all of the accomplishments described above reflect opportunities for training and professional development. Three of our NNF Fellows passed rigorous PhD comprehensive exams this year. All Fellows advanced their tailored professional development plans and discussed these plans with mentors. These efforts led to specific professional development activities as follows for each of our NNF Fellows. Taylor Blackman presented research to an EPA mid-Atlantic working group seeking to establish long-term wetland research sites. He was asked to help plan a regional vernal pool conference. Additionally, he is an active participant in an EPA and PA DEP wetland working group. Marissa Kopp volunteered at "Digging Deeper: The Story of Soil" children's mini-camp at Penn State Arboretum. She presented "Soil Respiration: Connecting Soils to Climate" for Geophysics of the Near-surface an Outdoor Motivational Experience for Students (GNOMES). Marissa served on the steering committee to organize the 2021 Lancaster-Lebanon Watershed Science Symposium. She served as the Program Chair Representative for the Penn State Ecology Graduate Student Organization and as a member of the Penn State Program Committee for Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. Finally, because one of Marissa's professional development goals is developing proficiency in teaching science writing, she developed course curriculum for a 3-credit undergraduate class at Penn State, ERM 397: Effective Communication in Environmental Science, and served as the instructor of record for Fall 2022. Denise Alving attended the North American Dendroecological Fieldweek (NADEF) 2022 in Montreal, Canada, where she learned techniques for collection and analysis of wood anatomy from tree cores as a tool for better understanding tree physiology. Rachel Cruz-Perez completed our custom Professional Development program, which all of our fellows complete in their first year. That exercise crystalized an interest in tropical forest management, which Rachel is advancing through collaborations with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama (using IRTA funds from this grant). Rachel attended the annual SSSA meetings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? A major milestone in dissemination was achieved in this reporting period through publication of our perspectives piece in Forest Ecology and Management (see products). That article lays out our Fellow-led analysis of how to incorporate critical zone management into forest planning. Marissa Kopp presented "Soil Respiration: Connecting Soils to Climate" for Geophysics of the Near-surface an Outdoor Motivational Experience for Students (GNOMES). Marissa traveled to the SSSA meetings to present her research (see products) and won the best overal student paper award for the Forest and Wildland Soil section. Taylor Blackman presented research to an EPA mid-Atlantic working group seeking to establish long-term wetland research sites. He was asked to help plan a regional vernal pool conference. Additionally, he is an active participant in an EPA and PA DEP wetland working group. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Students will continue their research, and as appropriate for this time in their programs, efforts will shift toward data collection and synthesis. Blackman and Alving are still appointed as Fellows and will complete their research programs. In addition, Blackman and Alving will use NNF IRTA funds to travel to European CZOs this May. Kopp has moved on to become an AFRI ELI Fellow. Cruz-Perez will continue coursework to gain core competencies and will gain experience in tropical forest management through an IRTA funded trip to Panama in May.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Four PhD fellows made progress in their degree programs. Taylor Blackman is a Fellow in the Forest Resources PhD Program, who studies the occurrence and function of vernal pools above the headwaters. This year he successfully completed his comprhensive exam, a major milestone in the program. Taylor is a co-author and wrote several sections of a review paper that the in Forest Ecology and Management (see Products) on incorporating Critical Zone science into forest management. The field component of Taylor's research has come to an end, and all equipment has been removed. Currently, he is writing up his first project and doing data analysis for two others. Proceeding into the spring his primary focus will be finishing the dissertation, and all other program requirements have been satisfied.Taylor presented his research to an EPA mid-Atlantic working group seeking to establish long-term wetland research sites. Marissa Kopp isin the Ecology PhD program. She achieved several milestones in her graduate program, including successful completion of her comprehensive exam. Marissa published her first research manuscript in Ecosystems with several critical zone collaborators, in which we examine the effects of topography on soil CO2 efflux in a forest and its implications in monitoring and modeling. From this work, we found an unusual timing of soil CO2 efflux, which Marissa examined in a follow up experiment on the mechanisms driving diel patterns of soil CO2 efflux from our forested site. Additionally, Marissa analyzed diel soil CO2 efflux patterns across 31 global forested datasets from the Continuous Soil Respiration (COSORE) database. Marissa presented the preliminary findings of this research at the ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Meeting, and a manuscript is currently being written with some collaborators from the NNF grant (Jason Kaye and Jon Duncan). Marissa was the lead author on the team paper published in Forest Ecology and Management on incorporating Critical Zone science into forest management (see products). This year she was awarded an AFRI pre-doctoral grant and thus she switched from being an NNF fellow to an AFRI Fellow in January 2022 Denise Alving is a Fellow in the Forest Resources PhD program. This year she successfully completed her comprehensive exam, a major milestone in the program. Over the past year, she collected survivorship and growth data at two timepoints, April and November, for seedlings planted in 2021. Denise planted a second cohort of seedlings to replace seedlings from species with high mortality and begin to understand seasonal variation in survivorship and growth outside of the experimental design. During the summer, she collected soil cores and placed resin bags at each of four sites to measure the total and exchangeable micronutrient concentration and better understand the biogeochemical context for seedling success. Denise performed initial analyses on this soil data as well as organizing and cleaning the database of tree seedling data and beginning analysis of this data for my first chapter.In summer 2022, Denise completed her shadowing opportunity with collaborator Meredith Seltzer at the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Denise accompanied Ms. Seltzer on a field data collection day identifying sites of potential interest for management for habitat for an at-risk butterfly species. Through the fieldwork and discussions with her and other scientists there, Denise learned more about the interdisciplinary nature of the work of DCNR ecologists, and the context within which plant research in the area takes place. Denise is a co-author and wrote several sections of a review paper that the team published inForest Ecology and Management on incorporating Critical Zone science into forest management. Denise also was co-author on a second paper related to her work at the North American Dendro-Ecological Field Week. Rachel Cruz-Perez is a new Fellow in the Ecology Program. Rachel was able to join the program as Marissa Kopp moved to separate (AFRI ELI) funding. Rachel has been developing the core competencies through program coursework. She is developing core competencies in Forestryand Geosciences through courses in Forest Biometrics and Biogeochemistry, respectively. In separate classes from the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment program, she has developed core competencies related to transdisciplinary science, including leadership, systems thinking, and communication.Through classes in her home graduate program she has developed core competencies in Ecology. As a new student, Rachel's research has focused on getting acquainted with the literature on soil CO2 and N2O emissions. Rachel also learned about the equipment used for gas sampling, which she hopes to apply to her research. Rachel has made connections with Smithsonian scientists and planned a site visit for May to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama (using IRTA funds from this grant) to cultivate a deeper understanding of tropical forest ecosystem management and to identify research sites to conduct future research.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kopp, M., D. Alving, T. Blackman, M. Kaye, J. Duncan, and J. Kaye. 2023. Critical zone perspectives for managing changing forests. Forest Ecology and Management, 528, p.120627.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Kopp, M., Kaye, J., Smeglin, Y.H., Adams, T., Primka, E.J., Bradley, B., Shi, Y. and Eissenstat, D. 2022. Topography Mediates the Response of Soil CO2 Efflux to Precipitation Over Days, Seasons, and Years. Ecosystems. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00786-1
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Kopp, M., Kaye, J. (2022). Untangling Drivers of High Soil CO2 Efflux from Forested Soils. ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Meeting.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Kopp, M. (2022). Soil Respiration: Connecting Soils to Climate. Geophysics of the Near surface an Outdoor Motivational Experience for Students (GNOMES). (Oral).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Kopp, M. (Feb. 2022). Roots, Soils, or Bias? Exploring Controls on High Nighttime CO2 Efflux from Near-Stream Forested Soils. Penn State Ecology Colloquium. (Oral).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Kopp, M., Aviste, R, & Naylor R.S. (Nov. 2021). A Socio-ecological Approach to Spatially Targeting Riparian Buffer Outreach. Lancaster-Lebanon Watershed Forum. (Poster).
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Kopp, M., Aviste, R, & Naylor R.S. (Nov. 2021). Spatially Targeting Riparian Buffer Outreach. 2021 Chesapeake Watershed Forum. (Oral).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Blomdahl, E.M., Speer, J.H., Kaye, M., Zampieri, N.E., Rochner, M., Currey, B., Alving, D., Cahalan, G.D., Hagedorn, B., Li, H. and Oelkers, R., 2022. Drivers of forest change in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Journal of Vegetation Science.
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Progress 11/01/20 to 10/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience for this work is our graduate student fellows. A secondary target is forest managers who might use critical zone science in their management planning. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Since this is a training program, all of the accomplishments described above reflect opportunities for training and professional development. All three of our NNF Fellows passed rigorous PhD qualifying exams this year (so-called, candidacy exams). All three Fellows advanced their tailored professional development plans and discussed these plans with mentors. These efforts led to specific professional development activities as follows for each of our NNF Fellows. Taylor Blackman led a field tour of vernal pools for members of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Association. Also, Taylor mentored two undergraduates in the Environmental Resource Management major in wetland field methods. During the Spring 2021 semester Taylor gave a presentation on vernal pools to an undergraduate soil microbiology class at PSU. Marissa Kopp completed professional development opportunities in science communication (COMPASS Science Communication Workshop 2020) and teaching (New Instruction Orientation FA2021). She also supported the Ecology Graduate Degree Program at Penn State by serving as Program Chair Representative for the Ecology Graduate Student Organization; serving as a member of the Ecology Program's Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI); and hosting prospective students on our recruitment days. In further DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) work, Marissa participated in several training events, including an Inclusive and Critical Mentor Training and Workshop, and a Creating an Inclusive Culture training. Marissa is currently serving on a steering committee to host a two-day Lancaster and Lebanon Watershed Science Symposium and Forum in November 2021. Denise Alving has been working with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Climate Change Committee to establish two field sites for climate adapted forest plantings on State Forest Land. This upcoming spring or summer (2022), she is pursuing a shadowing or professional development experience with DCNR along these same lines. She is finishing a second year of leadership in the ESM Graduate Student Organization as its president. This position has involved providing social and professional development events to students in the department, including workshops on applying for jobs in the natural resources fields, setting up a seminar speaker for spring 2021, and facilitating grad student meetings with candidates for several faculty positions. She has also worked with faculty and students to facilitate discussions and processes for addressing diversity discussions and the Covid-19 pandemic. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?One of our Fellows,Marissa Kopp, completed a summer internship with Penn State's Agriculture and Environment Center, which aims to improve water quality by engaging stakeholders, fostering partnerships, and supporting integrative research. Through this internship, she assisted in several outreach events, such as interfacing with farmers and the public during Ag Progress Days or visiting students at the PA School for Excellence in the Agricultural Sciences. This opportunity also offered shadowing experiences in extension and outreach, watershed management and planning, policy, and communications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This year our three Fellows will submit their first, group authored, peer review publication. The publication is targeting forest managers around the theme of "how can critical zone science improve forest management". Students will continue their research, and as appropriate for this time in their programs, efforts will shift toward data collection and synthesis. By the end of this year, all three Fellows will form graduate dissertation committees and complete their comprehensive exams. With COVID restrictions lifting we expect some of our Fellows to take advantage of the travel components of this grant to travel to meetings or other critical zone observatories.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Three PhD fellows made progress in their degree programs. Taylor Blackman is a Fellow in the Forest Resources PhD Program, who studies the occurrence and function of vernal pools above the headwaters. This year he successfully completed his qualifying exam, a major milestone in the program. He has also completed his coursework, developing the core competency areas of forestry, hydrology, and soil science. This year Taylor continued research on a network of 50 vernal pool sites including an extensive GIS dataset of terrain metrics around those vernal pools. One of these sites was the focus of intensive, in depth measurements this year. At that site, 18 ground water monitoring wells were dug by hand for a combined depth of 85 ft with sensors placed to measure water level and conductivity. Soil descriptions were completed in conjunction with samples analyzed for textural class and chemistry. Weekly water samples were collected, which are to be analyzed in the coming year. Taylor is a co-author and wrote several sections of a review paper that the team will submit to the Journal of Forestry on incorporating Critical Zone science into forest management. Marissa Kopp is a Fellow in the Ecology PhD program. She achieved several milestones in her graduate program, including successful completion of her qualifying exams and forming a dissertation committee. She completed her coursework, developing core competency areas of systems thinking, ecology, and leadership. Marissa finalized an analysis of long-term continuous soil CO2 efflux at Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory, the results of which have been drafted into a journal article targeting Ecosystems. From this analysis of prior data, Marissa discovered a diel pattern in soil CO2 that was large, but without an obvious mechanism. Thus, this year she established a new experiment targeting nighttime CO2 fluxes; and through this study, she has already successfully collected several months of continuous data and mentored an undergraduate on the project. Marissa is leading a manuscript (targeting Journal of Forestry) on incorporating Critical Zone science into forest management. This year she submitted an AFRI pre-doctoral grant that is currently under review to conduct new research on soil greenhouse gas emissions from forested riparian buffers at the edge of agricultural fields. Denise Alving is a Fellow in the Forest Resources PhD program. This year she successfully completed her qualifying exam, a major milestone in the program. She also completed her coursework, developing core competency areas of Forestry, Ecology, and Leadership. Since November 2020, Denise has been working with PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and Penn State's Forestlands to select six research plots, four in Penn State's Stone Valley and two in DCNR's Rothrock State Forest, on sites representing shale and sandstone geologies. In a monumental effort, Denise removed competing vegetation and planted 1650 trees across these sites in addition to setting up a greenhouse study on campus with an additional 200 trees. Baseline measurements have been taken for all trees with plans to follow up on seasonal growth in November 2021. Leaves of these trees were also collected for RNA extraction to begin analyzing gene expression across different sites. Denise also continued to work on a forest inventory within Penn State's Stone Valley Forest. She is coordinating data entry for data from summer 2020.Denise wrote and received two grants to fund this research from the Center for Landscape Design and the Sustainability Institutes at Penn State. Denise is a co-author and wrote several sections of a review paper that the team will submit to the Journal of Forestry on incorporating Critical Zone science into forest management.
Publications
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Progress 11/01/19 to 10/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The primary target audience was the three PhD students were NNF fellows, plus other graduate graduate students that participated in our training grant programming.In addition, these students interacted with several forest resources professionals. Thus, forest resource professionals that could employ Critical Zone understanding were also a secondary target audience. Changes/Problems:In Spring 2020 our class was changed from in person to virtual becuase of COVID. The transition meant that some of our students who were shadowing outreach professionals had to do so by attening zoom meetings rather than going to the field. Likewise, in Fall 2020 we had to offer our training program classes virtually. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Since this is a training program, all of the accomplishments described above reflect opportunities for training and professional development. All three of our NNF Fellows passed rigorous PhD qualifying exams this year (so-called, candidacy exams).In addition, specific professional development opportunities not related to research arose for each of our NNF Fellows. Marissa Kopp discussed water quality issues with Matt Royer, the Director of PSU's Agriculture and Environment Center, and Billy Clauser, a Warwick Township Planner, in Spring 2020. She is also attendingquarterly meetings for Agroforestry in the Chesapeake Bay and a Pennsylvania-specific Agroforestry "Brain Trust" group. Both groups bring together practitioners, foresters, federal workers, and researchers to discuss local issues with a particular emphasis on multifunctional riparian buffers. Ms. Kopp has had sevearl professional development opportunities in the areas of leadership and communciation. Sherecently completeda two-day COMPASS scientific communication training.She was also elected as a Program Chair Representative for the Ecology Graduate Student Organization and joined the Ecology DEI committee for the Ecology Program. Taylor Blackmanshadowed members of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protections Policy Office. He interviewed the director,Jessica Shirley, at length about current issues and how to engage with the public. Taylorattended a hearing of the state water board and met with the Policy Offices Deputy Director, Brian Chalfant,to discuss about water resources. This year, Taylor also recieved hisWetland Professional in Training certification, which is the first step to Professional Wetland Scientist. During the spring of 2020, Denise Alving participated in a two-part shadowing experience within the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR)'s Bureau of Forestry. The initial component was networking withRyan Szuch, a section chief in the Bureau of Forestry, who had previously spoken in our FOR 597 class described in "what was accomplished" section above. The second component was shadowing withJonathan Snyder, recreation forester at Rothrock State Forest. This compoenent was curailed bythe Covid-19 Pandemic, but Ms. Alvinghad a lengthy discussion with Mr Snyder about the role of a recreation forester, including managing natural services for ecosystem functions and public needs, timber sales, and the day to day functions of the position. Ms. Alvingalso attended the Bureau of Forestry Ecosystem Management Advisory Committee meeting in June as part of the shadowing experience set up by Mr. Szuch. In July 2019, Fellow Denise Alvingattended the National Dendroecological Field Week (NADEF) in Cody, Wyoming, where they spent an intensive 10 days collecting and learning how to analyze tree core data. Ms. Alving has remained involved in work with this group since the end of the field week on data collected there, where the end goal is publication of a paper. Additionally, Ms. Alving attended the oSTEM 2019 conference, which is a conference for scientists who are in the LGBT community. There, they wereable to network with fellow graduate and undergraduate students involved in plant research and learn about their work, as well as attend seminars, and a poster session. Ms. Alving has had numerous opportunities for leadership professional development. For the past year, they served as the President of the Graduate Student Organization that represents all of the three graduate programs housed within theDepartment of Ecosystem Sciene and Management. This Organizationis the primary interface between the graduate student body and faculty, alumni, and undergraduates. Deniseworked with the organization throughout a global pandemic, and through the questions that have arisen about increasing diversity initiatives in the department. Additionally, this role includedcoordinating the graduate student meetings with four new faculty hires in the Ecosystem Science and Managment Departmentin the fall of 2020, including the Department Head, Goddard Chair, Ibberson Chair, and the Restoration Geneticist Position. Theylead meetings between graduates students and all individuals interviewing for these positions, and got to interact with each, then provided feedback to the respective search committees. Ms. Alving hasbeen re-elected for the 2021 calendar year. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?This year our three Fellows will continue writing their first, group authored, peer review publication. The publication is targeting forest managers around the them of "how can critical zone science improve forest managment". Students will continue their research, and Fellows will be forming graduate dissertation committees and selecting co-advisors. With COVID restrictions lifting we expect some of our Fellows to take advantage of the travel components of this grant to travel to meetings or other critical zone observatories.Through continued corsework, students will continue progress in the core competencies identified for the CZ Forest Resources Training Program: Forestry, Hydrology, Soil Science, Ecology, Geology (Geoscience), Systems thinking, and Leadership. This year, each Fellows will take on their second experiential learning activity to "watch and learn" as they witness experts in the field at work, ask questions, discuss professional responsibilities, and recognize the skills needed for critical zone management.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Three PhD fellows made progress in their degree programs. Taylor Blackman is a Fellow in the Forest Resources PhD Program, who studies theoccurrence and function of vernal pools above the headwaters. This year 50 vernal pool sites were field verified, an extensive GIS dataset of terrain metrics was created and preparation for radiocarbon sampling of buried organic material is underway. Progress in the two additional projects on vernal pool hydrology and biogeochemistry consisted of field monitoring and GIS planning. Seven sites including 15 vernal pools were monitored for water level, temperature, and conductivity from mid-July to November to capture the seasonal shift.Marissa Kopp is a Fellow in the Ecology PhD program.Shemade significant progress analyzing continuous automatic soil respiration data from 2015-2018, andcollected and processed co-located soil samples at the Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory. This research will culminate in at least two papers: one on the response of soil respiration to interannual climatic variability across complex terrain, and another on the magnitude and direction of soil respiration-temperature hysteresis loops across complex terrain. Additionally, shebegan planning research on greenhouse gas emissions from multifunctional riparian buffers. This resulted in the first of several grant proposals (i.e., NSF GRFP) and in collaborations to begin planting new or taking over existing research plots. Denise Alving is a Fellow in the Forest Resources PhD program. She hasanalyzed data from theShale Hills Critical Zone Observatory and plots collected by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and Game Commission for correlations between tree species and underlying bedrock. Denise alsodeveloped a methodology for planting of a climate adapted forest including five native and three incoming species, which incorporates ecological, physiological, and genetic measurements. Ms. Alving hasdeveloped a working relationship with groups such as PA Bureau of Forestry and the nonprofit 10 Million Tree Project in order to acquire seedlings and sites for planting in spring of 2021. In addition to research, Ms. Alvingcoordinated the Shale Hills and Garner Run Critical Zone Observatory leaf litter collection, recording, and archiving in the fall of 2019. Finally, Ms. Alving had a leadership role in the 2020 Stone Valley Forest Inventory, working on the ground with field crews and now with data entry. In addition to our NNF Fellows, four additional graduate students benefited from our training program by enrolling in our classes. We began institutionalizing this training approach be having one class approved as a permanent PSU offering (Critical Zone Science Seminar). Two classes were offered by the training program during this reporting period. FOR 597 Critical Zone Forest Management was described in the previous annual report (that class spanned the dates of the two reporting periods because it was offered in Fall 2019). The second class wasFor 597: Forest, Soil, & Watershed Management, offered in Spring 2020.This class explored the plans that guide forest, watershed, and soil managers in decisions regarding the land they steward. Our overall goals were: for students to be introduced to an array of management plans, to discuss implementation of these plans with land managers, and to consider innovations that could improve management plans.Learning Outcomes for the class were that upon completing this class, students will be able to: Recite the key elements of a forest, watershed, or soil management plan. Analyze how and why management plans differ from each other. Anticipate challenges that managers face when implementing management plans. Communicate gaps in management plans and propose solutions to those gaps. The class format was as follows: Week 1-1.5: These classes will be introductory. Students will read and introduction to land use planning and some land management plan case studies. Each student will present a lightening presentation about one case study. Students will initiate shadowing exercise. During this time students will have the opportunity to suggest land managers that we can invite to class. The student will identify the manager early in the semester, make contact, and arrange for their shadowing. Week 2-12 speakers (suggest some): After the few classes introducing basic concepts in land-use planning, in-class time will follow a repeated three-day schedule. Prior to Day 1 students will read an assigned management plan. On Day 1 we will discuss the plan and develop questions for the practitioner executing the plan. At the end of Day 1, each student will write a discussion question for the visitor on an index card and share this question with one instructor. On Day 2 the practitioner that wrote and/or is executing the plan will visit class and we will discuss the value and challenges of the particular plan. Day 2 will be formatted as: student introductions (5 min total), guest introduction (5 min total), then use student index card questions to drive discussion for the remainder of the day. On Day 3 we will have a debriefing of the practitioners visit using a 3/2/1 format: 3 things you learned/2 questions you have/1 way this relates to your research. Also during this time, but outside of class, each student is expected to shadow one land management planner while carrying out at least one critical task during the semester. Weeks 13-15: At the end of the semester each student will write and present a summary of their shadowing experience. In addition, each student will write and present a final project addressing the prompt: "Add what is missing to a management plan." Students will select from any of the plans that we read and add realistic and novel aspect to natural resource management.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Kopp, Marissa. 2020. Carbon Fluxes in Complex Terrain: Topographic Controls on the Response of Soil Respiration to Climactic Variables. Ecology Colloquium Presentation. Pennsylvania State University
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Blackman, T., J. Duncan, T. White, and D. Miller. 2020. Lithologic and Periglacial Origins of Vernal Pools may Influence their Hydrologic Function in the Appalachian Mountain Section of Pennsylvania [Final poster number: H057-0010]. Presented at 2020 Fall Meeting, AGU 1-17 Dec.
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Progress 11/01/18 to 10/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:We were mainly recruiting fellows during this reporting period. Thus, the target audience is graduate students from diverse backgrounds. Changes/Problems:We failed to recruit a student from an underprepresented minority. We made one offer to an African-American student and it was a very strong financial offer. This was a student that hte lead PD had met at the SACNAS conference and actively recruited.However, the student selected another school. Our cohort includes two women, one veteran, and one member of the LGBTQ+ community. Thus, we consider the cohort to be diverse in a variety of ways, though without the racial diversity we saught. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Since this is a training program, all of the accomplishments described above reflect opportunities for training and professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We actively recruited at the SACNAS conference made extensive contacts with HBCUs to advertise the training fellowships. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will establish a permanent class in the area of Critical Zone Science, and will teach a class on managmeent planning. We will continue professional development and experiential learning. Students will initiate research and shadowing outreach professionalis in thier respective fields.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this reporting year we recruited three PhD students into the program. The students were recruited from October 2018 through March 2019 and matriculated in August 2019. In August 2019 we started our first class for the cohort,FOR597 Critical Zone Forest Management.This class reviewed discoveries in the new field of Critical Zone (CZ) science and explore how these discoveries change our understanding of forest ecology, soils and watersheds. Students also engaged in professional development and leadership training that helped them interact with CZ scientists and managers. Class activities will included reading primary literature, in-class discussions, student presentations, development of papers describing how CZ science discoveries have impacted several disciplines, leadership and teamwork training, and initiation of a professional development plan for each student. Learning Outcomes: Upon completing this class, students were expected to: Be able to describe outline a conceptual model of CZ science with respect to its impact on ecology, soil science, forestry, and watershed science. Communicate across disciplines using the vocabulary of CZ science in discussions and writing. Initiate a professional development plan that will guide their PhD programs. Be cognizant of the teambuilding and leadership skills needed for interdisciplinary collaboration. This class represents the first in a series designed to train leaders in CZ Management. This first semester focussesd on understanding CZ science. Subsequent semesters will focus on understanding forest and watershed management plans and writing a team paper on CZ Forest Management (Spring 2020), watching and learning from outreach professionals (Fall 2020), exploring CZ science applications with a larger student and faculty group (Spring 2021), writing the first critical zone management plan (Fall 2021), developing outreach materials to disseminate this plan (Spring 2022).
Publications
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