Education
| Ph.D. |
1988 |
Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies |
Plant Physiological Ecology |
| M.Phil. |
1985 |
Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies |
Tree Physiology / Plant Physiological Ecology |
| M.F.S. |
1981 |
Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies |
Tree Physiology / Plant Physiological Ecology |
| B.S. |
1979 |
University of Vermont, School of Natural Resources |
Forestry / Forest Science |
Professional Interests
My research focuses primarily on understanding the effects of global environmental change (a.k.a. "climate change") on the functioning and structure of terrestrial ecosystems, and deciphering the underlying ecological mechanisms driving the responses. This includes the study of how rising atmospheric CO2, changes in ambient temperature, interannual climate variability (e.g. anomalously warm years or heat waves), reductions in biological diversity, and large periodic disturbances (e.g. wildfire) affect plant physiological processes, plant growth and survival, plant populations and plant communities, as well as ecosystem processes and feedbacks. Although my interests in ecology are broad, I am particularly keen on understanding how belowground processes are impacted by changing ambient environmental conditions (e.g. fine root dynamics, activity of soil fauna, soil hydrology and root biology). I attempt to bridge traditional ecological disciplines and seek out collaboration with scientists from other disciplines to address these wider-ranging ecological questions.
Research Areas
- Ecosystem ecology
- Global change biology
- Invasive species effects on ecosystem function
- Post-fire plant physiological ecology
- Profile featured in DRI Spring 2000 Newsletter
- Nevada Desert FACE Facility (NDFF)
- Ecohydrology
- Climate change
- Net desert ecosystem CO2 fluxes and controls
- Multi-trophic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems in response to environmental factors
- Terrestrial nutrient cycling
- Vegetation-soil water interactions
- Arid land restoration
Links
Above: Measuring ecosystem water vapor and CO2 fluxes using the "dome" static chamber and a Licor 7500 open-path infra-red gas analyzer in a post-wildfire ecosystem in the western Great Basin in Nevada. |
Above: "Ecosystem CO2 uptake: Prolonged after-effects of an extremely warm year. Earth's terrestrial ecosystems strongly modulate levels of CO2 in the atmosphere through seasonal changes in net plant productivity (CO2 absorbance) and soil microbial respiration (CO2 release). It has been known for decades that these processes respond to seasonal shifts in climate, especially temperature, resulting in the zig-zag form of the global CO2 curve, but the data necessary to quantify impacts of a single climate variable at interannual timescales have been lacking. A four-year study using intact tallgrass prairie ecosystems in controlled environment chambers (like the one on the cover, showing plant communities a few weeks after summer mowing) now provides some of the missing data. The results show that one anomalously warm year reduces net ecosystem CO2 exchange for that year and the year after. Carbon sequestration in ecosystems exposed to high temperatures for a year is a third of that in controls. These findings suggest that more frequent anomalously warm years, a possible consequence of rising anthropogenic CO2 levels, could lead to a sustained decrease in CO2 uptake by terrestrial ecosystems. Cover photo: J. Arnone [Letter p. 383; www.nature.com/podcast]" (Sept 18 2008 nature cover image used with permission.)
"When Temperatures Warm, Plants Take in Less CO2" - article appears in the November 2008 issue of EARTH.
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Selected Publications
- Arnone JA III, Verburg PSJ, Johnson DW, Larsen JD, Jasoni RL, Lucchesi AJ, Batts CM, von Nagy C, Coulombe WG,
- Schorran DE, Buck PE, Braswell BH, Coleman JS, Sherry RA, Wallace LL, Luo Y, Schimel DS (2008) Prolonged suppression of ecosystem carbon dioxide uptake following an anomalously warm year. Nature 455:383-386
46.
- Wohlfahrt G, Fenstermaker LF, Arnone JA III (2008)
- Large annual net ecosystem CO2 uptake of a Mojave Desert ecosystem. Global Change Biology 14:1475-1487.
45.
- Sherry RA, Zhuo XH, Gu SL, Arnone JA III, Schimel DS, Verburg PSJ, Wallace LL, Luo Y (2007)
- Divergence of reproductive phenology under climate warming. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:198-202.
- Verburg PSJ, Johnson DW, Schorran DE, Wallace LL, Luo Y, Arnone JA III (2008)
- Impacts of an anomalously warm year on soil nitrogen availability in experimentally manipulated intact tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Global Change Biology (in press)
- Verburg PSJ, Larsen JD, Johnson DW, Schorran DE, Arnone JA III (2005)
- Impacts of an anomalously warm year on soil CO2 efflux in experimentally manipulated intact tallgrass prairie ecosystems. Global Change Biology 11:1720-1732.
39.
- Prater MR, Obrist D, Arnone JA III, Delucia EH (2005)
- Net carbon exchange and evapotranspiration in post-fire and intact sagebrush communities in the Great Basin. Oecologia 146:595-607.
38.
- Jasoni RL, Smith SD, Arnone JA III (2005)
- Net ecosystem CO2 exchange in Mojave Desert shrublands after eight years of exposure to elevated CO2. Global Change Biology 5:749-756.
- Obrist D, Gustin MS, Arnone JA III, Johnson DW, Schorran DE, Verburg PSJ (2005)
- Measurement of gaseous elemental mercury fluxes over intact tallgrass prairie monoliths during one full year. Atmospheric Environment 39:957-965.
- Arnone JA III, Obrist D (2003)
- A large daylight geodesic dome for quantification of whole-ecosystem CO2 and water vapor fluxes in arid shrublands. Journal of Arid Environments 55:629-643.
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