NSRC RESEARCHER PROFILE:  Ivan Fernandez
Investigating soil nutrient cycling to understand long-term responses of Northern Forest ecosystems to chemical and physical climate changes.

"Understanding how forest ecosystems respond to chemical and physical changes in climate over the long-term is fundamental to our economy and way of life in Maine and the Northern Forest region," maintained Ivan Fernandez, professor of soil science and forest resources at the University of Maine where he has been a faculty member for over 25 years. "My research emphasis is forest soils and focuses on how the impacts of human disturbances, including acid deposition and climate change, affect soil nutrients and ultimately forest health."

Ivan collaborates with a multi-disciplinary team of scientists from the United States and Europe. The team examines effects of acidification in soils and surface waters at watershed research sites in Czech Republic, France, Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, and West Virginia. Since the early 1970s, scientists in Europe and North America have acknowledged that acid rain, containing nitrogen and sulfur, can have negative impacts on forest health and water quality. Nitrogen naturally occurs in the environment and is essential for plant growth, but excess nitrogen from pollution triggers loss of other critical soil nutrients from forest soils and excess nutrient transport into streams and lakes.

To study soil nutrient depletion, Ivan and his co-researchers collect data from watershed study sites such as Bear Brook in eastern Maine. Since 1989, one of two side-by-side forested watersheds at Bear Brook has been treated every two months by helicopter with ammonium sulfate to experimentally increase atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur inputs. In 2003, the scientists reported that nitrogen acidification accelerates loss of calcium and magnesium, two critical soil and plant nutrients, when compared to the untreated watershed.

"We are now into the third decade of our paired watershed study," Ivan explained. "The study site provides information about the effects of acid deposition and climate change that we could not discover without this long-term record of ecosystem function. We have found that ecosystem responses are different now than they were 20 years ago shortly after ammonium sulfate treatments were initiated. We rely heavily on Bear Brook and other watershed studies to answer the big questions about long-term effects of atmospheric deposition and climate change."

Ivan has more recently concentrated on the critical nutrient phosphorus. He received Northeastern States Research Cooperative (NSRC) funding to answer the question: does increased nitrogen deposition cause phosphorus deficiency in temperate forest ecosystems? Ivan and his colleagues discovered at Bear Brook, Mount Ascutney in Vermont, the Harvard Forest in Massachusetts, and other sites that nitrogen-induced acid deposition has more of an effect on phosphorus than traditionally thought. They collected valuable data on phosphorus movement in forest soils and its depletion from ecosystems receiving experimental amendments of nitrogen.

With NSRC funding, Ivan also investigated soil and site influences on northern white cedar stem quality and growth in response to Northern Forest industry concern about the tree species' diminished vigor and productivity. Suspecting a connection between soil nutrients and cedar health, Ivan and his graduate student measured chemical properties of soils supporting northern white cedar at a range of sites from wetland to upland as part of a broader program of research on the tree species through a collaboration of United States and Canadian researchers.

"We found that higher available soil calcium concentrations were associated with better cedar growth and vigor," revealed Ivan. "Generally, cedar can be found on all types of forest sites in the region but appears to favor higher calcium and lower acidity levels in soils."

Both a prolific researcher and a dedicated teacher, Ivan was recognized as the Distinguished University of Maine Professor in 2007 and Carnegie Foundation's 2008 Maine Professor of the Year. He has introduced an entire generation of undergraduate students to soils and soil science in his lecture and lab courses and has involved students at all levels in his research program.

"At any one time, I usually have three to eight part- or full-time student employees who work on our research projects and are often with our program throughout their entire undergraduate career. Many continue on as graduate students who are essential to my research program and are what fills up most of my day," admitted Ivan, who has been major advisor for more than 30 graduate students during his tenure at the university.

Ivan has contributed his expertise to the state of Maine as a member of the Maine Association of Professional Soil Scientists and served on the State of Maine Board of Certification for Geologists and Soil Scientists for more than 16 years. He recently co-organized the conference Climate Change 21: Choices for the 21st Century. Ivan also played a major role in coordinating a climate change assessment for Maine, involving over 70 scientists, and in preparing a report on "Maine’s Climate Future" for Governor John Baldacci in February 2009.

"Dr. Fernandez is a great asset to the State of Maine," said Governor John E. Baldacci. "His leadership at the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute has yielded important evidence of the current and future impact of global warming on our planet. The contributions of Dr. Fernandez to our understanding of climate change enable policymakers to frame future investigations and discussions on strategies to address global warming and energy issues."

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© 2010 NORTHEASTERN STATES RESEARCH COOPERATIVE
Funding for this website provided by the USDA Forest Service, an equal opportunity provider. Partners include:
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont
University of New Hampshire in cooperation with the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation
Center for Research on Sustainable Forests at the University of Maine
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry