Dr. Chris J. Peterson Associate Professor.
Ph.D., 1992, Rutgers University.
Contact information is at the bottom of this document; my C.V. can be viewed
here.
| Research & Teaching My research interests encompass two main areas: 1) forest
wind disturbance and regeneration; 2) tropical post-agricultural succession. Relative to
forest wind disturbance, I study not only the immediate physical and ecological consequences
of wind storms, but the patterns of regeneration after the disturbance. Relative to tropical
succession, I have been documenting both the long-term (10 years and more) pattern of forest
regrowth, and the factors driving that pattern, in five sites in premontane tropical wet forest
in southern Costa Rica. My primary teaching responsibilities are a graduate course in Community
Ecology; half of an undergraduate course called Natural History of Georgia Plants; and half
of an undergraduate introductory botany course for nonmajors.
Personal I recently (March 2006) married the former Sandy van Brocklin; more on
that happy event is here. A highlight of recent years was spending
Fall semester 2004 on sabbatical at the University of Helsinki, Finland. This semester
abroad was made possible by a Fulbright teaching/research grant, for which I am most
appreciative! My host there was Dr. Timo Kuuluvainen. More details are
here.
Evolution & Intelligent Design I have recently been involved in ongoing discussions
with UGA faculty colleagues over evolution and the Intelligent Design movement. I participated
in a public debate on these topics in February 2007, and made a pro-evolution presentation at
Georgia Tech in March 2005. An expanded version of my 2007 presentation, with additional
material is available here.
Bruce Haines, 1941-2007. Sadly, my long-term collaborator on the Costa Rica Charral
Project, Dr. Bruce Haines, passed away in February 2007. He was diagnosed with bone cancer
in late summer of 2006, and his condition steadily deteriorated. We will miss Bruce greatly,
both in the Plant Biology Department, and in our study in Costa Rica. Bruce's endless
enthusiasm about tropical ecology was evident throughout his career -- he was never happier
than when elbow-deep in tropical field work. I was honored to be among a handful of friends
and family that dispersed his ashes; Bruce would like nothing more than to know that he was
being returned to the nutrient cycle. Rest in peace, Bruce.
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Contents of this Web site:
Publications
Dosch, J.J., C.J. Peterson, and B.L. Haines. 2007. Seed rain during initial
colonization of replicate abandoned pastures in the premontane wet forest zone
of southern Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 23: 1-9.
Peterson, C.J. and W.P. Carson. 2007. Constraints on forest regeneration in
abandoned tropical pastures: do temperate paradigms of succession apply to the
tropics? in press in Tropical Forest Ecology, edited by W.P. Carson & S.
Schnitzer. Blackwell Publishing.
Peterson, C.J. 2007. Consistent influence of tree diameter and species on damage
in nine eastern North America tornado blowdowns. Forest Ecology and Management,
in press.
Krueger, L., and C.J. Peterson. 2006. Effects of white-tailed deer on Tsuga
canadensis regeneration: evidence of microsites as refugia from browsing. American
Midland Naturalist, 156: 353-362.
Jones, F.A., J.A. Hamrick, C.J. Peterson, and E.R. Squiers. 2006. Inferring
colonization history from analyses of spatial genetic structure within populations
of Pinus strobus and Quercus rubra. Molecular Ecology, 15: 851-861.
Peterson, C.J. 2004. Within-stand variation in windthrow in southern-boreal
forests of Minnesota: is it predictable? Canadian Journal of Forest Research,
34: 365-375.
Jones, F.A., C.J. Peterson, and B.L. Haines. 2003. Seed predation in
neotropical pre-montane pastures: site, distance, and species effects. Biotropica,
35: 219-225.
Franks, S.J., and C.J. Peterson. 2003. Burial disturbance leads to
facilitation among coastal dune plants. Plant Ecology, 168: 13-21.
Dale, V.H., L.A. Joyce, S. McNulty, R.P. Neilson, M.P. Ayres, M.D.
Flannigan, P.J. Hanson, L.C. Irland, A.E. Lugo, C.J. Peterson, D.
Simberloff, F.J. Swanson, B.J. Stocks, and B.M. Wotton. 2001. Climate change
and forest disturbances. BioScience, 51: 723-734.
Peterson, C. J., and S. T. A. Pickett. 2000. Experimental patch dynamics:
patch type influences on components of regeneration in a catastrophic
windthrow. Oikos, 90: 489-500.
Peterson, C.J. 2000. Damage and recovery of tree species after two
different tornadoes in the same old growth forest: a comparison of infrequent
wind disturbances. Forest Ecology and Management, 135: 237-252.
Peterson, C.J. 2000. Catastrophic wind damage to North American forests and
the potential impact of climate change. Science of the Total Environment,
262: 287-312.
Peterson, C.J., and B.L. Haines. 2000. Early successional patterns and
potential facilitation of woody plant colonization by rotting logs in
premontane Costa Rican pastures. Restoration Ecology, 8: 361-369.
Jin, V.L., L.T. West, B.L. Haines, and C.J. Peterson. 2001. P retention
in tropical premontane soils across forest-pasture interfaces. Soil Science ,
165: 881-889.
Turner, M.G., W.L. Baker, C.J. Peterson, and R.K. Peet. 1998. Factors
influencing succession: lessons from large, infrequent natural disturbances.
Ecosystems1: 511-523.
Long, Z.T., W.P. Carson, and C.J. Peterson. 1998. Can disturbance create
refugia from herbivores: an example with hemlock regeneration on treefall
mounds. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 125: 165-168.
Peterson, C.J. and A.J. Rebertus. 1997. Tornado damage and initial
recovery in three adjacent, lowland temperate forests in Missouri. Journal
of Vegetation Science 8: 559-564.
Peterson, C.J. and R.H. Jones. 1997. Clonality in woody plants: a review
and comparison with clonal herbs. pp. 263-289 in H. de Kroon & J. van
Groenendael, editors, The Ecology and Evolution of Clonal Plants.
Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Peterson, C.J. and W.P. Carson. 1996. Generalizing forest regeneration
models: the dependence of propagule availability on disturbance history and
stand size. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 26: 45-52.
Peterson, C.J. and E.R. Squiers. 1995a. Competition and succession in an
aspen-white pine forest. Journal of Ecology, 83: 449-457.
Peterson, C.J. and E.R. Squiers. 1995b. An unexpected change in spatial
pattern across 10 years in an aspen-white pine forest. Journal of Ecology,
83: 847-855.
Peterson, C.J. and S.T.A. Pickett. 1995. Forest reorganization: A case
study in an old-growth forest catastrophic blowdown. Ecology, 76:
763-774.
Peterson, C.J. and J.E. Campbell. 1993. Microsite differences and
temporal change in plant communities of treefallpits and mounds in an old-growth
forest. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 120: 451-460.
Peterson, C.J. & J.M. Facelli. 1992. Contrasting germination and
seedling growth of Betula alleghaniensis Britton and Rhus typhina L. subjected
to various amounts and types of plant litter. American Journal of Botany
79: 1209-1216.
Peterson, C.J. and S.T.A. Pickett. 1991. Stem damage and re-sprouting
following catastrophic windthrow in an old-growth hemlock-hardwoods forest. Forest
Ecology & Management 42: 205-217.
Carson, W.P. and C. J. Peterson. 1990. The role of litter in an old-field community:
Impact of litter quantity in different seasons on plant species richness and
abundance. Oecologia 85: 8-13.
Peterson, C. J. and S. T. A. Pickett. 1990. Microsite and elevational
influences on forest regeneration three years after catastrophic windthrow. Journal
of Vegetation Science 1: 657-662.
Peterson, C. J., W. P. Carson, B. C. McCarthy, and S. T. A. Pickett. 1990.
Microsite variation and soil dynamics within newly created treefall pits and
mounds. Oikos 58: 39-46.
Papers currently in review:
Peterson, C.J., B.L. Haines, and J.J. Dosch. No Initial Floristic Composition and
limited Nucleation during early secondary succession in premontane southern Costa Rica.
submitted to Biotropica.
Leach, A.D., and C.J. Peterson. Limited effects of post-windthrow salvaging on
recovery in a moderately-disturbed pine-hardwood forest. submitted to Ecological
Applications.
Hillstrom, S.S., C.J. Peterson, and B.L. Haines. Rotting log microsites facilitate
forestregeneration in abandoned pastures of southern Costa Rica. submitted to
Restoration Ecology.
Lilja, S., M. de Chantal, C.J. Peterson, T. Kuuluvainen, I. Vanha-Majamaa, and P.
Puttonen. Microsites and seedlings in managed Picea abies stands before and after
restorative treatment with partial cutting, dead wood creation, and fire. submitted
to Forest Ecology & Management.
Research Support
Inventory and Monitoring Support of Management for Rare Communities in the Cherokee National Forest; USGS, Cooperative
Ecosystem Studies Unit.
Annual seedling dynamics surveys in the Forest Dynamics Plot, BCI; National
Science Foundation co-PI with Dr. Steve Hubbell.
Linking disturbance and forest characteristics to predict vegetation
dynamics, Andrew Mellon Foundation.
Tests of the equivalence of competitors and asymmetry of competition
hypotheses in multi-species woody communities, National Science Foundation.
co-PI with Steward Pickett.
Tree colonization of Cathedral Pines blowdown: sources of colonists and
causes of spatial patterns, The Nature Conservancy.
Comparative studies of wind disturbances to forests, University of Georgia
Research Foundation.
Research towards sustainable land use and biodiversity in a mosaic of
agriculture and tropical forest, National Science Foundation. co-PI with Bruce
Haines.
To contact Chris Peterson:
Mailing address: Department of Plant Biology
2502 Plant Science Building
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602 - 7271
Telephone: Office: 706-542-3754 Department: 706-542-3732
Fax: Departmental fax: 706-542-1805
e-mail: chris@plantbio.uga.edu
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