Faculty Profile
Ruth Yanai

Ruth Yanai
Professor
176 Baker
Highest Education
Ph.D. Yale University (Forest Ecology), 1990.
Areas of Study
- Multiple-Element Limitation in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems (MELNHE)
- Quantifying Uncertainty in Ecosystem Studies (QUEST)
- Forest ecology, ecosystem nutrient cycling, roots, and forest soils.
Courses Taught
- Writing for Scientific Publication (FOR 694)
- Capstone in Natural Resources (FOR 692)
Current Graduate Advisees
Oswaldo Carrillo
oicarril@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: PHD
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai
- Area of Study: Forest Resources Management
Personal Statement
Oswaldo Carrillo has a master's degree in applied statistics from the Colegio de Postgraduados, he has 10 years of experience in the area of Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) for REDD+. He has carried out different statistical analyzes on MRV for REDD+ and has carried out MRV trainings in different countries in Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. From 2016 to 2021, he was the head of CONAFOR's MRV system for REDD+, in which he coordinated the preparation of two national GHG inventories in the land sector, a national Forest Emission Reference Level (NREF), a subnational Forest Reference (NRF), a national REDD+ performance report, among others. He is an active member of the roster of experts of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change for the technical assessments of FREL / NRF. Currently, he is a member of the Latin-American and Caribbean SilvaCarbon team (through the US Forest Service) as a �Latin America SilvaCarbon Greenhouse Gas Estimation Statistical Expert� and he is a doctoral student at the Environmental Sciences and Forestry Collage of the State University of New York.
Graduate Research Topic
Methods to improve uncertainties estimation of land GHG emission reductions
Erin Cornell
ecorne01@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: MS
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai
- Area of Study: Ecology and Ecosystems
Personal Statement
I'm a graduate student interested in forest ecosystem health and dynamics, particularly from the perspective of nutrient cycling.
Graduate Research Topic
Free-living N fixation and beech bark disease
Favorite Quote
�The story of a place comes forth as the landscape reveals its experience through our careful attention� - Tom Wessels
Scott Dai
sdai03@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: MS
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai
- Area of Study: FRM Ecology and Ecosystems
Personal Statement
I am a master's student for Ruth Yanai learning about how nutrient colimitation in northeastern hardwood forests influences ecosystem functioning. I'm trying to figure out if the herbaceous layer and/or wood density is influenced by our fertilization regimes... tune in later to see what I decide on, or if I have a different idea entirely!
Favorite Quote
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
Kelley Gilhooly
kagilhoo@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: MS
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai
- Area of Study: Environmental Science
Graduate Research Topic
Nutrient Cycling within a forest ecosystem, particularly the role of decomposers
Mar�a Fernanda Gonzalez Montes
mgonza61@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: MS
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai and Stehman
- Area of Study: Forest Resources Management
Personal Statement
I am a Forest Engineer graduated from the Divisi�n de Ciencias Forestales of the Universidad Aut�noma Chapingo in Mexico. I am very interested in issues related to forest management, wildlife and the conservation and restoration of ecosystems.
Favorite Quote
�The creation of a thousand forests is in a single acorn.� - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ana Medina
avmedina@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: MS
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai and Stehman
- Area of Study: Forest Resources Management
Jenna Zukswert
jmzukswe@syr.edu
- Degree Sought: PHD
- Graduate Advisor(s): Yanai
- Area of Study: ESC Environmental Monitoring
Links
Web Link
Personal Statement
I am a forest ecosystem ecologist interested in bridging the gap between those who conduct research and those who use the results.
Graduate Research Topic
Functional Ecology of Northeastern Forests
Selected Publications
Yanai, R.D., G.E. Walsh, Y. Yang, C.A. Blodgett, K. Bae, and B.B. Park. 2018. Nutrient concentrations of roots vary with diameter, depth, and site in New Hampshire northern hardwoods. Can. J. For. Res., 48: 32-41. DOI: 10.1139/cjfr-2017-0223 PDF
Yanai, R.D., C.R. See, J. L. Campbell. 2018. Current practices in uncertainty analysis in ecosystem ecology. Ecosystems, 21(5): 971-981. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-017-0197-x PDF
Yanai, R.D., N. Tokuchi, J.L. Campbell, M.B. Green, E. Matsuzaki, S.N. Laseter, C.L. Brown, A.S. Bailey, P. Lyons, C.R. Levine, D.C. Buso, G.E. Likens, J. Knoepp, and K. Fukushima. 2015. Sources of uncertainty in estimating stream solute export from headwater catchments at three sites. Hydrol. Processes 29: 1793–1805. DOI: 10.1002/hyp.10265 PDF
Yanai, R.D., M.A. Vadeboncoeur, S.P. Hamburg, M.A. Arthur, M.A. Fuss, P.M. Groffman, T.G. Siccama, and C.T. Driscoll. 2013. From missing source to missing sink: long-term changes in a forest nitrogen budget. Environ. Sci. Technol. 47(20): 11440–11448. DOI: abs/10.1021/es4025723 PDF
Yanai, R.D., C.R. Levine, M.B. Green, and J.L. Campbell. 2012. Quantifying uncertainty in forest nutrient budgets. J. For. 110(8): 448–456. DOI: 10.5849/jof.11-087 PDF
Yanai, R.D., M.A. Arthur, M. Acker, C.R. Levine, and B.B. Park. 2012. Variation in mass and nutrient concentration of leaf litter across years and sites in New Hampshire northern hardwoods. Can. J. For. Res. 42(8): 1597–1610. DOI:10.1139/x2012-084 PDF
Yanai, R.D., J.J. Battles, A.D. Richardson, E.B. Rasetter, D.M. Wood and C. Blodgett 2010. Estimating uncertainty in ecosystem budget calculations. Ecosystems 13(2): 239–248 PDF
Yanai, R.D., W.S. Currie, and C.L. Goodale. 2003. Soil carbon dynamics after forest harvest: an ecosystem paradigm reconsidered. Ecosystems 6: 197–212 PDF
Yanai, R.D., M.A. Arthur, T.G. Siccama, and C.A. Federer. 2000. Challenges of measuring forest floor organic matter dynamics: repeated measures from a chronosequence. For. Ecol. Manage. 138: 273–283 PDF
Yanai, R.D., T.G Siccama, M.A. Arthur, C.A. Federer, and A.J. Friedland. 1999. Accumulation and depletion of base cations in forest floors in the northeastern US. Ecology 80: 2774–2787 PDF
Yanai, R.D. 1992. Phosphorus budget of a 70-year old northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry 17: 1–22 PDF