Kimberly Wickland
Kimberly Wickland is a Research Ecologist for the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center.
I lead interdisciplinary studies that increase our understanding of the complexities of carbon cycling across terrestrial and aquatic environments; the impacts of climate, disturbance, and land use on coupled biogeochemical cycles; and the implications of changing carbon and nutrient dynamics for future climate and ecosystem conditions. My research covers a large range of ecosystems including wetlands, forests, tundra, lakes, streams, and rivers in temperate and high latitude regions.
Professional Service
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Coordinating Lead Author - IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands (2011-2014)
- Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Board of Directors, Member-at-Large (2014-2020)
- ASLO Awards Committee Chair (2015-2019)
- Associate Editor, Limnology and Oceanography (2015-2019)
- Associate Editor, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (2018-present)
Academic Service
- Graduate student Research Advisor (University of Colorado-Boulder: Geological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Engineering)
- Graduate Thesis Committee Member (University of Colorado-Boulder; Florida State University; Northern Arizona University; University of Wisconsin-Madison)
- PhD Opponent (Stockholm University, Sweden; Uppsala University, Sweden)
- PhD External Examiner (Memorial University, Newfoundland, Canada)
- Postdoctoral Research Advisor (USGS Mendenhall Program; Marie Sklodovska Curie European Union Global Research Fellow Program)
Professional Experience
Research Ecologist, USGS (2001-present)
Biologist, USGS (1993-2001)
Education and Certifications
PhD (Geological Sciences), University of Colorado-Boulder (2006)
MA (Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology), University of Colorado-Boulder (1997)
BA (Zoology), Miami University, Ohio (1992)
Honors and Awards
Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Fellow (2017): For excellence in contributions to ASLO and the aquatic sciences.
US Department of Interior Unit Award for Excellence of Service (2017): Awarded to the USGS LandCarbon Team for work on biological carbon sequestration.
USGS Superior Service Award (2014): For work as a Coordinating Lead Author of the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands.
US Department of Interior Partners in Conservation Award (2010): For cooperative work in association with the Indigenous Tribes/First Nations of the Yukon River Basin.
Science and Products
Role of ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks in recent ice wedge degradation and stabilization
Ancient low–molecular-weight organic acids in permafrost fuel rapid carbon dioxide production upon thaw
Runoff sources and flowpaths in a partially burned, upland boreal catchment underlain by permafrost
Effects of permafrost thaw on CO2 and CH4 exchange in a western Alaska peatland chronosequence
The implications of microbial and substrate limitation for the fates of carbon in different organic soil horizon types of boreal forest ecosystems: a mechanistically based model analysis
A synthesis of methane emissions from 71 northern, temperate, and subtropical wetlands
Carbon and geochemical properties of cryosols on the North Slope of Alaska
Emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from a headwater stream network of interior Alaska
Expert assessment of vulnerability of permafrost carbon to climate change
Reorganization of vegetation, hydrology and soil carbon after permafrost degradation across heterogeneous boreal landscapes
Biodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in the Yukon River and its tributaries: Seasonality and importance of inorganic nitrogen
Variation in soil carbon dioxide efflux at two spatial scales in a topographically complex boreal forest
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 68
Role of ground ice dynamics and ecological feedbacks in recent ice wedge degradation and stabilization
Ground ice is abundant in the upper permafrost throughout the Arctic and fundamentally affects terrain responses to climate warming. Ice wedges, which form near the surface and are the dominant type of massive ice in the Arctic, are particularly vulnerable to warming. Yet processes controlling ice wedge degradation and stabilization are poorly understood. Here we quantified ice wedge volume and deAuthorsMark Torre Jorgenson, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Yuri Shur, Natalia Moskalenko, Dana Brown, Kimberly P. Wickland, Robert G. Striegl, Joshua C. KochAncient low–molecular-weight organic acids in permafrost fuel rapid carbon dioxide production upon thaw
Northern permafrost soils store a vast reservoir of carbon, nearly twice that of the present atmosphere. Current and projected climate warming threatens widespread thaw of these frozen, organic carbon (OC)-rich soils. Upon thaw, mobilized permafrost OC in dissolved and particulate forms can enter streams and rivers, which are important processors of OC and conduits for carbon dioxide (CO2) to theAuthorsTravis W. Drake, Kimberly P. Wickland, Robert G. M. Spencer, Diane M. McKnight, Robert G. StrieglRunoff sources and flowpaths in a partially burned, upland boreal catchment underlain by permafrost
Boreal soils in permafrost regions contain vast quantities of frozen organic material that is released to terrestrial and aquatic environments via subsurface flowpaths as permafrost thaws. Longer flowpaths may allow chemical reduction of solutes, nutrients, and contaminants, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions and aqueous export. Predicting boreal catchment runoff is complicated by soilAuthorsJoshua C. Koch, Colin P. Kikuchi, Kimberly P. Wickland, Paul SchusterEffects of permafrost thaw on CO2 and CH4 exchange in a western Alaska peatland chronosequence
Permafrost soils store over half of global soil carbon (C), and northern frozen peatlands store about 10% of global permafrost C. With thaw, inundation of high latitude lowland peatlands typically increases the surface-atmosphere flux of methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas. To examine the effects of lowland permafrost thaw over millennial timescales, we measured carbon dioxide (CO2) and CH4 excAuthorsCarmel E. Johnston, Stephanie A. Ewing, Jennifer W. Harden, Ruth K. Varner, Kimberly P. Wickland, Joshua C. Koch, Christopher C. Fuller, Kristen L. Manies, M. Torre JorgensonThe implications of microbial and substrate limitation for the fates of carbon in different organic soil horizon types of boreal forest ecosystems: a mechanistically based model analysis
The large amount of soil carbon in boreal forest ecosystems has the potential to influence the climate system if released in large quantities in response to warming. Thus, there is a need to better understand and represent the environmental sensitivity of soil carbon decomposition. Most soil carbon decomposition models rely on empirical relationships omitting key biogeochemical mechanisms and theiAuthorsY. He, Q. Zhuang, Jennifer W. Harden, A. David McGuire, Z. Fan, Y. Liu, Kimberly P. WicklandA synthesis of methane emissions from 71 northern, temperate, and subtropical wetlands
Wetlands are the largest natural source of atmospheric methane. Here, we assess controls on methane flux using a database of approximately 19 000 instantaneous measurements from 71 wetland sites located across subtropical, temperate, and northern high latitude regions. Our analyses confirm general controls on wetland methane emissions from soil temperature, water table, and vegetation, but also shAuthorsMerritt R. Turetsky, Agnieszka Kotowska, Jill Bubier, Nancy B. Dise, Patrick Crill, Ed R.C. Hornibrook, Kari Minkkinen, Tim R. Moore, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Hannu Nykanen, David Olefeldt, Janne Rinne, Sanna Saarnio, Narasinha Shurpali, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, J. Michael Waddington, Jeffrey R. White, Kimberly P. Wickland, Martin WilmkingCarbon and geochemical properties of cryosols on the North Slope of Alaska
Cryosols contain roughly 1700 Gt of Soil organic carbon (SOC) roughly double the carbon content of the atmosphere. As global temperature rises and permafrost thaws, this carbon reservoir becomes vulnerable to microbial decomposition, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions that will amplify anthropogenic warming. Improving our understanding of carbon dynamics in thawing permafrost requires more datAuthorsCuicui Mu, Tingjun Zhang, Paul F. Schuster, Kevin Schaefer, Kimberly P. Wickland, Deborah A. Repert, Lin Liu, Tim Schaefer, Guodong ChengEmissions of carbon dioxide and methane from a headwater stream network of interior Alaska
Boreal ecosystems store significant quantities of organic carbon (C) that may be vulnerable to degradation as a result of a warming climate. Despite their limited coverage on the landscape, streams play a significant role in the processing, gaseous emission, and downstream export of C, and small streams are thought to be particularly important because of their close connection with the surroundingAuthorsJohn T. Crawford, Robert G. Striegl, Kimberly P. Wickland, Mark M. Dornblaser, Emily H. StanleyExpert assessment of vulnerability of permafrost carbon to climate change
Approximately 1700 Pg of soil carbon (C) are stored in the northern circumpolar permafrost zone, more than twice as much C than in the atmosphere. The overall amount, rate, and form of C released to the atmosphere in a warmer world will influence the strength of the permafrost C feedback to climate change. We used a survey to quantify variability in the perception of the vulnerability of permafrosAuthorsE.A.G. Schuur, B.W. Abbott, W.B. Bowden, V. Brovkin, P. Camill, J.G. Canadell, J. P. Chanton, F. S. Chapin, T.R. Christensen, P. Ciais, B.T. Crosby, C.I. Czimczik, G. Grosse, J. Harden, D.J. Hayes, G. Hugelius, J.D. Jastrow, J. B. Jones, Thomas Kleinen, C.D. Koven, G. Krinner, P. Kuhry, D.M. Lawrence, A. D. McGuire, Susan M. Natali, J. A. O'Donnell, C.-L. Ping, W.J. Riley, A. Rinke, V.E. Romanovsky, A. B. K. Sannel, C. Schädel, K. Schaefer, J. Sky, Z.M. Subin, C. Tarnocai, M.R. Turetsky, M. P. Waldrop, K.M. Walter Anthony, K.P. Wickland, C. J. Wilson, S.A. ZimovReorganization of vegetation, hydrology and soil carbon after permafrost degradation across heterogeneous boreal landscapes
The diversity of ecosystems across boreal landscapes, successional changes after disturbance and complicated permafrost histories, present enormous challenges for assessing how vegetation, water and soil carbon may respond to climate change in boreal regions. To address this complexity, we used a chronosequence approach to assess changes in vegetation composition, water storage and soil organic caAuthorsM. Torre Jorgenson, Jennifer Harden, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Jonathan O'Donnell, Kim Wickland, Stephanie Ewing, Kristen Manies, Qianlai Zhuang, Yuri Shur, Robert G. Striegl, Joshua C. KochBiodegradability of dissolved organic carbon in the Yukon River and its tributaries: Seasonality and importance of inorganic nitrogen
Northern high-latitude rivers transport large amounts of terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) from boreal and arctic ecosystems to coastal areas and oceans. Current knowledge of the biodegradability of DOM in these rivers is limited, particularly for large rivers discharging to the Arctic Ocean. We conducted a seasonally comprehensive study of biodegradable dissolved organic carbonAuthorsKimberly P. Wickland, George R. Aiken, Kenna D. Butler, Mark M. Dornblaser, RGM Spencer, Robert G. StrieglVariation in soil carbon dioxide efflux at two spatial scales in a topographically complex boreal forest
Carbon dynamics of high-latitude regions are an important and highly uncertain component of global carbon budgets, and efforts to constrain estimates of soil-atmosphere carbon exchange in these regions are contingent on accurate representations of spatial and temporal variability in carbon fluxes. This study explores spatial and temporal variability in soilatmosphere carbon dynamics at both fine aAuthorsKatharine C. Kelsey, Kimberly P. Wickland, Robert G. Striegl, Jason C. Neff