Breadcrumb

Bio
I am a broadly trained ecosystem ecologist with interests in plant ecology, biogeochemistry, and global change.
My students and I use a variety of approaches, from large-scale manipulations to laboratory experiments and paleoecological reconstructions, to understand the resilience of communities and ecosystems to environmental change.
We tend to work on a variety of research issues including permafrost degradation and changing wildfire regimes that are important to global change and environmental policy arenas. In both northern Canada and Alaska, my research is moving towards fundamental research questions that also are of interest to stakeholders in the north. Northerners are experiencing the most rapid climate change on the planet, and my research interests are aimed at helping them address what these rapid changes mean for their land, traditional foods and the quality of their water. Landscape changes associated with climate warming also will influence the resilience of power and energy systems in northern regions. For example, permafrost thaw is leading to land subsidence (thermokarst) and affects the ability of subsidence harvesters to travel across their land and access traditional foods. By conducting user-driven research that also addresses fundamental questions in ecology and global change biology, I strive to build knowledge and capacity for northern communities and governments.
Key accomplishments
- Founding member, Permafrost Carbon Network
- Member, Permafrost Action Team (SEARCH)
- Member, National Academies' Polar Research Board
- Steering committee to create the Canadian Permafrost Association
- Senior scientist, Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research Program
- Academic liaison to NASA’s Arctic Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE)
- AAAS Leshner Leadership Institute Science Engagement Fellow
Please visit my lab website (www.turetskylab.com) to see examples of research projects, products (including conference posters) and videos and photos of field sites.
Education
- Mendenhell Fellow: U.S. Geological Survey, 2004
- PhD: University of Alberta, 2002
Awards
Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher, Clarivate, 2020
Research
Ecosystem ecology, wetland ecology, carbon cycling, permafrost science, fire ecology, biogeochemistry
With more than 20 years of experience working in boreal and arctic ecosystems, my work contributes to theoretical predictions of ecosystem structure and function, but it also applies to regulation of carbon in a global change world. I am passionate about northern ecosystems and the people who depend on them. Through research, engagement, and teaching, my primary aim is to train the next generation of scientists in the interdisciplinary skills required to tackle ongoing challenges in the north related to food and water security, energy sustainability, carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, and landscape change.
Please visit my lab website (www.turetskylab.com) to see examples of research projects, products (including conference posters) and videos and photos of field sites.
Publications
For additional publications, see Merritt's Google Scholar list.
More frequent burning increases vulnerability of Alaskan boreal black spruce forests
Publication Date: 2016-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Decadal and long-term boreal soil carbon and nitrogen sequestration rates across a variety of ecosystems
Publication Date: 2016-08-01
Type: Journal Article
The Sphagnum microbiome: new insights from an ancient plant lineage
Publication Date: 2016-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Variation in fuel structure of boreal fens
Publication Date: 2016-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Effects of disturbance on understory succession in upland and lowland boreal forests and implications for woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)
Publication Date: 2016-03-15
Type: Journal Article
Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire: an expert assessment
Abbott BW; Jones JB; Schuur EAG; Chapin FS; Bowden WB; Bret-Harte MS; Epstein HE; Flannigan MD; Harms TK; Hollingsworth ...
- Abbott BW
- Jones JB
- Schuur EAG
- Chapin FS
- Bowden WB
- Bret-Harte MS
- Epstein HE
- Flannigan MD
- Harms TK
- Hollingsworth TN
Publication Date: 2016-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Modeling CH4 and CO2 cycling using porewater stable isotopes in a thermokarst bog in Interior Alaska: results from three conceptual reaction networks
Publication Date: 2016-01-01
Type: Journal Article
A simplified, data-constrained approach to estimate the permafrost carbon-climate feedback
Publication Date: 2015-11-13
Type: Journal Article
The effect of long-term drying associated with experimental drainage and road construction on vegetation composition and productivity in boreal fens
Publication Date: 2015-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Algae alleviate carbon limitation of heterotrophic bacteria in a boreal peatland
Publication Date: 2015-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Wildfire as a key determinant of peatland microtopography
Publication Date: 2015-08-01
Type: Journal Article
A pan-Arctic synthesis of CH4 and CO2 production from anoxic soil incubations
Treat CC; Natali SM; Ernakovich J; Iversen CM; Lupascu M; McGuire AD; Norby RJ; Chowdhury TR; Richter A; Santruckova H...
- Treat CC
- Natali SM
- Ernakovich J
- Iversen CM
- Lupascu M
- McGuire AD
- Norby RJ
- Chowdhury TR
- Richter A
- Santruckova H
Publication Date: 2015-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Fuel load, structure, and potential fire behaviour in black spruce bogs
Publication Date: 2015-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback
Schuur EAG; McGuire AD; Schaedel C; Grosse G; Harden JW; Hayes DJ; Hugelius G; Koven CD; Kuhry P; Lawrence DM...
- Schuur EAG
- McGuire AD
- Schaedel C
- Grosse G
- Harden JW
- Hayes DJ
- Hugelius G
- Koven CD
- Kuhry P
- Lawrence DM
Publication Date: 2015-04-09
Type: Journal Article
Response of plant community structure and primary productivity to experimental drought and flooding in an Alaskan fen
Publication Date: 2015-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Moderate drop in water table increases peatland vulnerability to post-fire regime shift
Kettridge N; Turetsky MR; Sherwood JH; Thompson DK; Miller CA; Benscoter BW; Flannigan MD; Wotton BM; Waddington JM...
- Kettridge N
- Turetsky MR
- Sherwood JH
- Thompson DK
- Miller CA
- Benscoter BW
- Flannigan MD
- Wotton BM
- Waddington JM
Publication Date: 2015-01-27
Type: Journal Article
Global vulnerability of peatlands to fire and carbon loss
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Transport of oxygen in soil pore-water systems: implications for modeling emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from peatlands
Publication Date: 2014-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Organic matter stocks increase with degree of invasion in temperate inland wetlands
Publication Date: 2014-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Spatial and temporal variability of algal community dynamics and productivity in floodplain wetlands along the Tanana River, Alaska
Publication Date: 2014-09-01
Type: Journal Article
A database and synthesis of northern peatland soil properties and Holocene carbon and nitrogen accumulation
Loisel J; Yu Z; Beilman DW; Camill P; Alm J; Amesbury MJ; Anderson D; Andersson S; Bochicchio C; Barber K...
- Loisel J
- Yu Z
- Beilman DW
- Camill P
- Alm J
- Amesbury MJ
- Anderson D
- Andersson S
- Bochicchio C
- Barber K
Publication Date: 2014-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Differential response of carbon fluxes to climate in three peatland ecosystems that vary in the presence and stability of permafrost
Publication Date: 2014-08-01
Type: Journal Article
A synthesis of methane emissions from 71 northern, temperate, and subtropical wetlands
Turetsky MR; Kotowska A; Bubier J; Dise NB; Crill P; Hornibrook ERC; Minkkinen K; Moore TR; Myers-Smith IH; Nykanen H...
- Turetsky MR
- Kotowska A
- Bubier J
- Dise NB
- Crill P
- Hornibrook ERC
- Minkkinen K
- Moore TR
- Myers-Smith IH
- Nykanen H
Publication Date: 2014-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Influence of the permafrost boundary on dissolved organic matter characteristics in rivers within the Boreal and Taiga plains of western Canada
Publication Date: 2014-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Controls on methane released through ebullition in peatlands affected by permafrost degradation
Publication Date: 2014-03-01
Type: Journal Article
Pages
Teaching
Current students
Alumni
For former students, see a list near the bottom of the Turetsky Lab people page
Outreach
I frequently engage with the media and have even produced my own science segment on live TV! Check out short clips of science communication on our lab website (www.turetskylab.com/media) or https://www.clippings.me/turetsky.
News