Pamela Templer
Associate Professor of Biology at Boston University
Schools
- Boston University
Links
Biography
Boston University
I am broadly interested in ecosystem ecology and the influence that plant-microbial interactions have on nutrient cycling, retention and loss. I am particularly interested in the effects that human activities, such as fossil fuel combustion, introduction of non-native plant species, land use change and climate change, have on forest ecosystems. We currently examine a variety of nitrogen sources, including rain, fog, and anthropogenic nitrogen deposition. We explore how plant-microbial interactions influence nitrogen and carbon retention and loss within natural and managed ecosystems.
We currently work in temperate forests of the northeastern United States, redwood forests of California, and tropical forests of Puerto Rico and Mexico. We focus on three research themes: (1) the effects of winter climate change on forest biogeochemistry and carbon exchange; (2) controls on nitrogen retention and loss in temperate and tropical forest ecosystems, and (3) effects of land-use change and forest regeneration on nutrient cycling.
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Cases
Emerging Field of Urban Earth Science Can Help With Climate Plans
December 7, 2016
Next City Pam Templer, Lucy Hutyra, College of Arts & Sciences If the hundreds of cities that have signed on to the Compact of Mayors or other climate action commitments follow through on their promise to stem carbon emissions, their work will start with creating greenhouse gas budgets and specific plans… View full article
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What an artificially heated forest in N.H. tells us about climate change
October 24, 2016
VICE News Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences This is what a forest would look like in one hundred years… Expert quote: “The idea is that we’re manipulating the climate across the entire year and looking at how the forrest responds.” View full article
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Mimicking Climate Change
July 28, 2016
Undark Magazine Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences Researchers are creating micro-environments to study what happens when temperatures rise and rain falls less often… Expert quote: “Over the last, I’d say two to three decades there have been more and more of these (experiments). Some mimic a future with higher temperatures, some mimic a […]
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Urban soil emits a surprising amount of CO2
February 24, 2016
Grist Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences Watch out, fossil fuels. There’s another CO2 emitter in town, and she’s been letting you take all the heat for greenhouse gases… Expert quote: “When people mulch their landscaped areas or fertilize their lawns, they’re putting out yummy fresh highly decomposable carbon that soil microbes can use. … And […]
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A Web of Sensors Enfolds an Entire Forest to Uncover Clues to Climate Change
March 13, 2015
IEEE Spectrum Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences Harvard’s experimental forest is wired up and down to study how changing conditions affect entire ecosystems… Expert quote: “We would love to have a crystal ball that says, ‘In 100 years the temperatures are going to increase by x and the forest is going to respond […]
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Slow-melting snowpack could take weeks to disappear
March 11, 2015
Boston Globe (subscription required) Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences The mounds of snow are finally melting, but it could be more than a month before anyone in the area spies the shoot of a crocus or daffodil, much less wide swaths of grass… Expert quote: “All the snow we’ve received is a huge […]
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The city is an ecosystem, pipes and all
November 8, 2014
Boston Globe (subscription required) Lucy Hutyra, College of Arts & Sciences Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences Nathan Phillips, College of Arts & Sciences Is a tree trying to survive in the city better off than a tree growing in the forest? The obvious answer would seem to be “no”: City trees face pollution, […]
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Eye on weather: The spring forecast
March 30, 2014
WBZ Richard Primack, College of Arts & Sciences Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences From the April Fool’s Blizzard of 1997 to the record floods of May 2006 to the sizzling heat of the 2012 Boston Marathon, we are vulnerable to a veritable potpourri of weather in the spring… View video of experts Richard […]
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Less Snowfall may Harm Soil Quality and Tree Health, Study Suggests
February 28, 2014
Nature World News Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences Tree growth and water system quality may be negatively impacted by milder winters in the coming years, according to a new study. Researchers from Boston University report that less snow cover associated with warmer winters will leave the ground exposed to prolonged freezing conditions, which will have consequences […]
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Milder winters can have negative impact on trees & water quality
February 28, 2014
WBUR “Morning Edition” Pamela Templer, College of Arts & Sciences Listen to audio of expert Pamela Templer
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