Nicole M DeCrappeo, Ph.D.
Nicole DeCrappeo is the Director of the Northwest and North Central Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs), two of the nine regional centers that form the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center Network.
Biography
Nicole DeCrappeo is the Director of the Northwest and North Central Climate Adaptation Science Centers. Prior to this position, she served as Deputy Director for the Alaska CASC, Deputy Director for the NW CASC, and Research Coordinator of the NW CASC. Her research experience includes 10 years with the U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, where she studied the links between native and exotic invasive plants, soil biological communities, and nutrient cycling in arid lands of the western U.S. She has also worked on topics ranging from biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in tallgrass prairies to climate change effects on soil communities in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. Nicole has a Ph.D. in Soil Science from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Ecology from Colorado State University, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from American University.
Science and Products
Fungal and bacterial contributions to nitrogen cycling in cheatgrass-invaded and uninvaded native sagebrush soils of the western USA
AimThere is interest in determining how cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) modifies N cycling in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) soils of the western USA.MethodsTo gain insight into the roles of fungi and bacteria in N cycling of cheatgrass-invaded and uninvaded sagebrush soils, the fungal protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide (CHX), and...
DeCrappeo, Nicole; DeLorenze, Elizabeth J.; Giguere, Andrew T; Pyke, David A.; Bottomley, Peter J. The integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan
The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy (hereafter Strategy, DOI 2015) outlined the need for coordinated, science-based adaptive management to achieve long-term protection, conservation, and restoration of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem. A key component of this management approach is the identification of knowledge gaps that...
Aldridge, Cameron L.; Berg, Ken; Boyd, Chad S.; Boyte, Stephen P.; Bradford, John B.; Brunson, Ed; Cissel, John H.; Conway, Courtney J.; Chalfoun, Anna D.; Chambers, Jeanne C.; Clark, Patrick; Coates, Peter S.; Crist, Michele R.; Davis, Dawn M.; DeCrappeo, Nicole; Deibert, Patricia A.; Doherty, Kevin E.; Evers, Louisa B.; Finch, Deborah M.; Finn, Sean P.; Germino, Matthew J.; Glenn, Nancy F.; Gucker, Corey; Hall, John A.; Hanser, Steven E.; Havlina, Douglas W.; Heinrichs, Julie; Heller, Matt; Homer, Collin G.; Hunter, Molly E.; Jacobs, Ruth W.; Karl, Jason W.; Kearney, Richard; Kemp, Susan K; Kilkenny, Francis F.; Knick, Steven T.; Launchbaugh, Karen; Manier, Daniel J.; Mayer, Kenneth E. ; Meyer, Susan E.; Monroe, Adrian P.; MontBlanc, Eugénie; Newingham, Beth A.; Pellant, Michael L.; Phillips, Susan L.; Pilliod, David S.; Ricca, Mark A.; Richardson, Bryce A.; Rose, Jeffrey A.; Shaw, Nancy; Sheley, Roger L.; Shinneman, Douglas J.; Wiechman, Lief A.; Wylie, Bruce K. Plant diversity predicts beta but not alpha diversity of soil microbes across grasslands worldwide
Aboveground–belowground interactions exert critical controls on the composition and function of terrestrial ecosystems, yet the fundamental relationships between plant diversity and soil microbial diversity remain elusive. Theory predicts predominantly positive associations but tests within single sites have shown variable relationships, and...
Prober, Suzanne M.; Leff, Jonathan W.; Bates, Scott T.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Firn, Jennifer; Harpole, W. Stanley; Lind, Eric M.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Adler, Peter B.; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Cleland, Elsa E.; DeCrappeo, Nicole; DeLorenze, Elizabeth; Hagenah, Nicole; Hautier, Yann; Hofmockel, Kirsten S.; Kirkman, Kevin P.; Knops, Johannes M. H.; La Pierre, Kimberly J.; MacDougall, Andrew S.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Mitchell, Charles E.; Risch, Anita C.; Schuetz, Martin; Stevens, Carly J.; Williams, Ryan J.; Fierer, Noah Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation
Human alterations to nutrient cycles and herbivore communities are affecting global biodiversity dramatically. Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level...
Borer, Elizabeth T.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Gruner, Daniel S.; Harpole, W. Stanley; Hillebrand, Helmut; Lind, Eric M.; Alder, Peter B.; Alberti, Juan; Anderson, T. Michael; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Biederman, Lori; Blumenthal, Dana; Brown, Cynthia S.; Brudvig, Lars A.; Buckley, Yvonne M.; Cadotte, Marc; Chu, Cheng-Jin; Cleland, Elsa E.; Crawley, Michael J.; Daleo, Pedro; Damschen, Ellen Ingman; Davies, Kendi F.; DeCrappeo, Nicole M.; Du, Guozhen; Firn, Jennifer; Hautier, Yann; Heckman, Robert W.; Hector, Andy; HilleRisLambers, Janneke; Iribarne, Oscar; Klein, Julia A.; Knops, Johannes M.H.; La Pierre, Kimberly J.; Leakey, Andrew D.B.; Li, Wei; MacDougall, Andrew S.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Melbourne, Brett A.; Mitchell, Charles E.; Moore, Joslin L.; Mortensen, Brent; O'Halloran, Lydia R.; Orrock, John L.; Pascual, Jesús; Prober, Suzanne M.; Pyke, David A.; Risch, Anita C.; Schuetz, Martin; Smith, Melinda D.; Stevens, Carly J.; Sullivan, Lauren L.; Williams, Ryan J.; Wragg, Peter D.; Wright, Justin P.; Yang, Louie H. Soil-plant-microbial relations in hydrothermally altered soils of Northern California
Soils developed on relict hydrothermally altered soils throughout the Western USA present unique opportunities to study the role of geology on above and belowground biotic activity and composition. Soil and vegetation samples were taken at three unaltered andesite and three hydrothermally altered (acid-sulfate) sites located in and around Lassen...
Blecker, S.W.; Stillings, L.L.; DeCrappeo, N.M.; Ippolito, J.A. Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: Is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness?
Invasions have increased the size of regional species pools, but are typically assumed to reduce native diversity. However, global-scale tests of this assumption have been elusive because of the focus on exotic species richness, rather than relative abundance. This is problematic because low invader richness can indicate invasion resistance by the...
Seabloom, Eric; Borer, Elizabeth; Buckley, Yvonne; Cleland, Elsa E.; Davies, Kendi; Firn, Jennifer; Harpole, W. Stanley; Hautier, Yann; Lind, Eric M.; MacDougall, Andrew; Orrock, John L.; Prober, Suzanne M.; Adler, Peter; Alberti, Juan; Anderson, T. Michael; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Biederman, Lori A.; Blumenthal, Dana; Brown, Cynthia S.; Brudvig, Lars A.; Caldeira, Maria; Chu, Cheng-Jin; Crawley, Michael J.; Daleo, Pedro; Damschen, Ellen Ingman; D'Antonio, Carla M.; DeCrappeo, Nicole M.; Dickman, Chris R.; Du, Guozhen; Fay, Philip A.; Frater, Paul; Gruner, Daniel S.; Hagenah, Nicole; Hector, Andrew; Helm, Aveliina; Hillebrand, Helmut; Hofmockel, Kirsten S.; Humphries, Hope C.; Iribarne, Oscar; Jin, Virginia L.; Kay, Adam; Kirkman, Kevin P.; Klein, Julia A.; Knops, Johannes M.H.; La Pierre, Kimberly J.; Ladwig, Laura M.; John, G.; Leakey, Andrew D.B.; Li, Qi; Li, Wei; McCulley, Rebecca; Melbourne, Brett; Charles, E.; Moore, Joslin L.; Morgan, John; Mortensen, Brent; O'Halloran, Lydia R.; Pärtel, Meelis; Pascual, Jesús; Pyke, David A.; Risch, Anita C.; Salguero-Gómez, Roberto; Sankaran, Mahesh; Schuetz, Martin; Simonsen, Anna; Smith, Melinda; Stevens, Carly; Sullivan, Lauren; Wardle, Glenda M.; Wolkovich, Elizabeth M.; Wragg, Peter D.; Wright, Justin; Yang, Louie Development and application of a soil organic matter-based soil quality index in mineralized terrane of the Western US
Soil quality indices provide a means of distilling large amounts of data into a single metric that evaluates the soil’s ability to carry out key ecosystem functions. Primarily developed in agroecosytems, then forested ecosystems, an index using the relation between soil organic matter and other key soil properties in more semi-arid systems of the...
Blecker, S.W.; Stillings, Lisa L.; Amacher, M.C.; Ippolito, J.A.; DeCrappeo, N.M. Nitrogen limitation, 15N tracer retention, and growth response in intact and Bromus tectorum-invaded Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis communities
Annual grass invasion into shrub-dominated ecosystems is associated with changes in nutrient cycling that may alter nitrogen (N) limitation and retention. Carbon (C) applications that reduce plant-available N have been suggested to give native perennial vegetation a competitive advantage over exotic annual grasses, but plant community and N...
Witwicki, Dana L.; Doescher, Paul S.; Pyke, David A.; DeCrappeo, Nicole M.; Perakis, Steven S. Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness
For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing...
Adler, Peter B.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Borer, Elizabeth T.; Hillebrand, Helmut; Hautier, Yann; Hector, Andy; Harpole, W. Stanley; O'Halloran, Lydia R.; Grace, James B.; Anderson, T. Michael; Bakker, Jonathan D.; Biederman, Lori A.; Brown, Cynthia S.; Buckley, Yvonne M.; Calabrese, Laura B.; Chu, Cheng-Jin; Cleland, Elsa E.; Collins, Scott L.; Cottingham, Kathryn L.; Crawley, Michael J.; Damschen, Ellen Ingman; Davies, Kendi F.; DeCrappeo, Nicole M.; Fay, Philip A.; Firn, Jennifer; Frater, Paul; Gasarch, Eve I.; Gruner, Daneil S.; Hagenah, Nicole; Lambers, Janneke Hille Ris; Humphries, Hope; Jin, Virginia L.; Kay, Adam D.; Kirkman, Kevin P.; Klein, Julia A.; Knops, Johannes M.H.; La Pierre, Kimberly J.; Lambrinos, John G.; Li, Wei; MacDougall, Andrew S.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Melbourne, Brett A.; Mitchell, Charles E.; Moore, Joslin L.; Morgan, John W.; Mortensen, Brent; Orrock, John L.; Prober, Suzanne M.; Pyke, David A.; Risch, Anita C.; Schuetz, Martin; Smith, Melinda D.; Stevens, Carly J.; Sullivan, Lauren L.; Wang, Gang; Wragg, Peter D.; Wright, Justin P.; Yang, Louie H.
Ecosystem health in mineralized terrane; data from podiform chromite (Chinese Camp mining district, California), quartz alunite (Castle Peak and Masonic mining districts, Nevada/California), and Mo/Cu porphyry (Battle Mountain mining district, Nevada) deposits
The myriad definitions of soil/ecosystem quality or health are often driven by ecosystem and management concerns, and they typically focus on the ability of the soil to provide functions relating to biological productivity and/or environmental quality. A variety of attempts have been made to create indices that quantify the complexities of soil...
Blecker, Steve W.; Stillings, Lisa L.; Amacher, Michael C.; Ippolito, James A.; DeCrappeo, Nicole M. A model for nematode locomotion in soil
Locomotion of nematodes in soil is important for both practical and theoretical reasons. We constructed a model for rate of locomotion. The first model component is a simple simulation of nematode movement among finite cells by both random and directed behaviours. Optimisation procedures were used to fit the simulation output to data from...
Hunt, H. William; Wall, Diana H.; DeCrappeo, Nicole; Brenner, John S.
Northwest CASC Welcomes USGS CASC Director Nicole DeCrappeo!
The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) is thrilled to welcome Nicole DeCrappeo as their U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) CASC Director!