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Brining Science to the Adirondacks and the Adirondacks to Science

Colin Beier, Ph.D.

Research Ecologist
Adirondack Ecological Center & Huntington Wildlife Forest
email: cbeier@esf.edu
voice (518) 582 4551 x106
fax (518) 582 2181

Research Interests

Forest Ecology and Physiology
Dendrochronology (Tree Ring Research)
Climate Change Impacts on Forest Communities
Ecology and Management of Coastal Temperate Rainforests
Forest Ecosystem Services
Wilderness Conservation
Policy and Management of U.S. National Forests
Inertia and Adaptive Capacity of Public Institutions
Forest Management for Renewable Energy

Prospective Students

I am interested in mentoring students pursuing either disciplinary or interdisciplinary research topics related to global climate change, wilderness conservation, forest ecology and management, ecological-economic modeling, and public lands policy and management, i.e., integrative research that addresses the sustainability of coupled human and natural systems. Because I am located at the Adirondack Ecological Center, in the heart of the Adirondack Park, my students will have excellent field and laboratory opportunities, and may even choose to reside here in the Adirondacks as a part of their research program. I also have ongoing research projects and access to facilities in the temperate rainforests of southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia, Canada. My philosophy is to encourage innovative and collaborative research, and to allow students to develop projects based on their interests and abilities. Please send me an email for more information or to set up some time to chat.

Recent Publications

Beier, C.M., Patterson, T.M., and Chapin, FS. In press. Ecosystem services and emergent vulnerability in managed ecosystems: a geospatial decision-support tool. Ecosystems.

Beier, C.M. In press. Influence of political opposition and compromise on conservation outcomes in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska. Conservation Biology.

Beier, C.M., Sink, S.E., Hennon, P.E., D’Amore, D.V. and G.P. Juday. 2008. Twentieth-century warming and the dendroclimatology of declining yellow-cedar forests in southeastern Alaska. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38(6): 1319-1334.

Hennon, P., D’Amore, D., Wittwer, D., Johnson, A., Schaberg, P., Hawley, G., Beier, C., Sink, S. and G. Juday. 2007. Climate warming, reduced snow, and freezing injury could explain the demise of yellow-cedar in Southeast Alaska. World Resource Review 18(2): 427-450.

Beier, C.M., Horton, J.L., Walker, J.F., Clinton, B.D., and E.T. Nilsen. 2005. Carbon limitation leads to suppression of first year oak seedlings beneath evergreen understory shrubs in Southern Appalachian hardwood forests. Plant Ecology. 176(2): 131-142.

Chapin, F.S., III, G. Peterson, F. Berkes, T.V. Callaghan, P. Angestam, M. Apps, C. Beier, Y. Bergeron, A.-S. Crepin, K. Danell, T. Elmqvist, C. Folke, B. Forbes, N. Fresco, G. Juday, J. Niemela, A. Shvidenko, and G. Whiteman. 2004. Resilience and vulnerability of northern regions to social and environmental change. Ambio 33:344-349.

Walker, J.F., O.K. Miller, Jr., J.L. Horton, C.M. Beier, B.D. Clinton, and E.T. Nilsen. 2002. Distribution of ectomycorrhizal fungi on tree seedlings grown in gradients of ericaceous shrubs in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Inoculum 53(3):58.