Peter Homann received degrees in chemistry
from Case Institute of Technology (B.S., 1975), natural sciences from
ESCI 340 Biostatistical Analysis
ESCI 361 Water Quality
ESCI 362 Water Quality Lab
ESCI 431 Watershed Biogeochemistry
ESCI
497 Ecological Images
Hanna Winter, in
progress, M.S. thesis, Western Washington University, “Response of forest soil
respiration to temperature”
Melissa Pingree, 2011, M.S. thesis, Western Washington
University, “The first pre- and post-wildfire charcoal quantification using
peroxide-acid digestion”
Emily Cavaliere, 2010, M.S., Western Washington
University, “Elwha River sediments: Dynamics of phosphorus during anoxic-oxic transition”
Stephanie McDowell, 2010, M.S., Western Washington
University, “Burn severity and whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)
regeneration in the North Cascades”
Casey Kulla, 2006, M.S.,
Western Washington University, “Twentieth-century climate change in the eastern
North Cascades and subalpine forest expansion”
Cliff Palmer, 2004, M.S.,
Duane Bays, 2003, M.S.,
Angela Haffie, 2002, M.S.,
Western Washington University, "Performance of dry detention ponds and a
grass swale in treating urban stormwater runoff with
low influent pollutant concentrations"
Lori Lenhart, 2002, M.S.,
Western Washington University, "The effect of jet A
aviation fuel on soil core microcosms using functional endpoints"
Jason Kapchinske, 1999, M.S.,
Chris Swanston, 1999, Ph.D.,
Suzanne Remillard,
1999, M.S.,
Research focuses on the interaction between
forest vegetation and soils, how management practices alter this interaction,
and the potential long-term consequences of the alterations. Within this broad
context, the following research projects are ongoing:
Direct assessment of changes in soil pyrogenic C across a forest fire gradient. The recent rise in wildfires in western USA
forests may have substantial immediate and long-term impacts on ecosystem C
budgets, including pyrogenic C in the soil. The proposed research will determine the
immediate effect of low- to high-intensity forest fires on soil pyrogenic C fractions at the Long-term Ecosystem
Productivity site in Siskiyou National Forest, Oregon. A portion of this site burned during the 2002
Biscuit wildfire. The specific research questions are: (1) What is the overall net change in soil pyrogenic
C mass, and its fractions, in response to forest fires of varying
intensities? (2) To what extent is the
net change in soil pyrogenic C mass, and its
fractions, quantitatively related to fine woody fuel consumed, coarse woody
fuel consumed, and prefire vegetation structure? (3) To what extent does loss of old pyrogenic C offset the generation of new pyrogenic C?
Fuel loads, wildfire intensity, and
forest soil C and N losses. These relationships are being examined at the Siskiyou
Long-term Ecosystem Productivity site, southwest Oregon, where the 2002 Biscuit
wildfire burned pre-established plots. Prior to the fire, plots were
manipulated to yield different vegetation composition and structure, and
different amounts of woody debris. Pre- and post-fire measurements of
surface fine woody debris (1-10 cm diameter), forest floor C and N masses, and
mineral soil C and N masses allow direct comparison of fine-wood consumption
and soil C and N losses on thirteen burned 2-ha plots. The quantification
of aboveground fuel dynamics and belowground soil properties will help fire
managers evaluate potential impacts on soils.
Soil Characterization at Long-term
Ecosystem Productivity (LTEP) Integrated Research Sites (IRSs). The IRSs represent a cooperative effort between the
National Forest System, Pacific Northwest Research Station, Washington Department
of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency, and several
universities. The objective is to determine the influence of vegetation and
organic matter inputs on ecosystem structure and function of
Coleman,
M., P.S. Homann, et al. Reciprocal influences: The interaction
between forest management and soil carbon and nitrogen. Presented at Western Conifer Climate Change Consortium, February
2011.
Pingree, M.R.A, and P.S. Homann. Charcoal quantification of the
Biscuit Fire-LTEP soils. Poster presented at International Association
of Wildland Fire Conference, Spokane, WA, October 2010.
Homann, P.S. Convergence and divergence of nutrient stoichiometry
in decomposing forest detritus. Presented at Northwest Science Annual
Meeting, Centralia, WA, March 2010
Homann, P.S.
Wildfire effects on forest soil:
Mechanisms of restoration and recovery.
Presented at Society of Ecological Restoration Northwest,
Lynnwood, WA, Feb. 2010.
Homann, P.S.
Forest soil response to wildfire: Relation to woody surface fuels. Presented
at 7th North American Forest Ecology Workshop, Logan, UT, June
2009
Homann, P.S., and B.T. Bormann. Lost ground: Soil C and N decreases
associated with the Biscuit Wildfire. Presented at Northwest Science
Association, Seattle, WA, March 2009.
Homann, P.S., B.T. Bormann, R.L. Darbyshire,
B.A. Morrissette. 2011. Forest soil carbon and nitrogen losses associated with wildfire and
prescribed fire. Soil Science
Society of America Journal 75:1926-1934.
Bormann, B.T., P.S. Homann, R.L. Darbyshire,
B.A. Morrissette. 2008. Intense forest wildfire sharply reduces soil
C and N: the first direct evidence. Canadian Journal of Forest Research
38:2771-2783.
Homann, P.S., B.T. Bormann,
J.R. Boyle, R.L. Darbyshire, R. Bigley. 2008. Soil C and N minimum detectable changes and
treatment differences in a multi-treatment forest experiment. Forest Ecology and Management 255:1724-1734
Homann, P.S., J.S.
Kapchinske, and A. Boyce. 2007.
Relations of mineral-soil C and N to climate and texture: regional differences within the conterminous
USA. Biogeochemistry 85:303-316. DOI 10.1007/s10533-007-9139-6
Homann, P.S., M.E. Harmon, S.M. Remillard, E.A.H. Smithwick.
2005. What the soil reveals:
Potential total ecosystem C stores of the
Homann, P.S., S. Remillard,
M. Harmon, B.T. Bormann. 2004.
Carbon storage in coarse and fine fractions of
Swanston, C.W., P.S.
Homann, B.A. Caldwell, D.D. Myrold, L. Ganio, and P. Sollins. 2004.
Long-term effects of elevated nitrogen on forest soil organic matter stability.
Biogeochemistry 70:227-250.
Swanston, C.W., B.A.
Caldwell, P.S. Homann, L. Ganio, and P. Sollins. 2002.
Carbon dynamics during a long-term incubation of separate and recombined
density fractions from seven forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry
34:1121-1130.
Homann, P.S., B.A.
Caldwell, H.N. Chappell, P. Sollins, and C.W.
Swanston. 2001. Douglas-fir soil C
and N properties a decade after termination of urea fertilization. Canadian
Journal of
Homann, P.S., B.T. Bormann,
and J.R. Boyle. 2001. Detecting
treatment differences in soil carbon and nitrogen resulting from forest
manipulations. Soil Science Society of
Homann, P.S., R.B. McKane, and P. Sollins. 2000. Belowground processes in forest ecosystem biogeochemical
simulation models.
Homann, P.S., P. Sollins,
M. Fiorella, T. Thorson, and J.S. Kern. 1998.
Regional soil organic carbon storage estimates for western
Griffiths,
R.P., P.S. Homann, and R. Riley. 1998. Denitrification
enzyme activity of Douglas-fir and red alder forest soils of the
Sollins, P., P.S. Homann, and B. Caldwell. 1996. Stabilization and destabilization of soil
organic matter: Mechanisms and controls. Geoderma
74:65-105.
Homann, P.S., and D.F.
Grigal. 1996. Below-ground organic
carbon and decomposition potential in a field-forest glacial-outwash landscape.
Biology and Fertility of Soils 23:207-214.
Homann, P.S., P. Sollins, H.N. Chappell, and A.G. Stangenberger. 1995. Soil organic C in a mountainous, forested
region: Relations to site characteristics. Soil Science Society of
Homann, P.S., D.W. Cole, H.
Van Miegroet, and J.E. Compton. 1994. Relationships between cation
and nitrate concentrations in soil solutions from mature and harvested red
alder stands. Canadian Journal of
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