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Scientists & Staff

Chris Swanston

Chris Swanston

Notes: This person is no longer an employee of the Northern Research Station.


Featured Publications & Products

Publications & Products

Other Publications

  • Fröberg, M.; Jardine, P.M.; Hanson, P.J.; Swanston, C.W.; Todd, D.E.; Tarver, J.R.; Garten Jr., C.T. 2007. Low dissolved organic carbon input from fresh litter to deep mineral soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 71(2):347-354.
  • Krull, E.S.; Swanston, C.W.; Skjemstad, J.O.; McGowan, J.A. 2006. The importance of charcoal in determining the age and chemistry of organic carbon in surface soils. Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeochemistry. 111(G04001):doi:10.1029/2006JG000194.
  • Sollins, P.; Swanston, C.; Kleber, M.; Filley, T.; Kramer, M.; Crow, S.; Caldwell, B.A.; Lajtha, K.; Bowden, R. 2006. Organic C and N stabilization in a forest soil: Evidence from sequential density fractionation. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 38(11):3313-3324.
  • Hanson, P.J.; Swanston, C.W.; Garten Jr., C.T.; Todd, D.E.; Trumbore, S.E. 2005. Reconciling change in Oi-horizon carbon-14 with mass loss for an oak forest. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 69(5):1492-1502.
  • Swanston, C.W.; Torn, M.S.; Hanson, P.J.; Southon, J.R.; Garten, C.T.; Hanlon, E.M.; Ganio, L. 2005. Initial characterization of processes of soil carbon stabilization using forest stand-level radiocarbon enrichment. Geoderma. 128(1-2):52-62.
  • Swanston, C.; Homann, P.S.; Caldwell, B.A.; Myrold, D.D.; Ganio, L.; Sollins, P. 2004. Long-term effects of elevated nitrogen on forest soil organic matter stability. Biogeochemistry. 70(2):229-252.
  • Swanston, C.W.; Caldwell, B.A.; Homann, P.S.; Ganio, L.; Sollins, P. 2002. Carbon dynamics during a long-term incubation of separate and recombined density fractions from seven forest soils. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 34(8):1121-1130.
  • Homann, P.S.; Caldwell, B.A.; Chappell, H.N.; Sollins, P.; Swanston, C.W. 2001. Douglas-fir soil C and N properties a decade after termination of urea fertilization. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 31(12):2225-2236.
  • Sollins, P.; Glassman, C.A.; Paul, E.A.; Swanston, C.; Lajtha, K.; Heil, J.W.; Elliott, E.T. 1999. Soil Carbon and Nitrogen: Pools and Fractions. In: G. P. Robertson, C. S. Bledsoe, D. C. Coleman and P. Sollins, eds. Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research. New York: Oxford University Press. 89-105.
  • Swanston, C.W.; Myrold, D.D. 1998. Evaluation of the stem injection technique and subsequent 15N partitioning in red alder crowns. Plant and Soil. 198(1):63-69.
  • Swanston, C.W.; Myrold, D.D. 1997. Incorporation of nitrogen from decomposing red alder leaves into plants and soil of a recent clearcut in Oregon. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 27(9):1496-1502.

National Research Highlights

Forest Service researchers are helping tribes develop climate change adaptation plans.

Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu

Year: 2019

USDA Forest Service researchers helped to create a new resource that incorporates indigenous perspectives and traditional ecological knowledge into climate change adaptation planning. This resource is being used to help tribal natural resources professionals develop climate adaptation plans and to help nontribal organizations communicate with tribal communities.

Close-up view of hands surrounding a freshly-planted pine tree seedling

Another Benefit of Reforestation: Soil Carbon Sequestration

Year: 2018

The rate of carbon sequestration in forests is projected to decline in the decades ahead, largely because more forest land will be developed and today’s aging forests sequester less carbon. In a first-of-its-kind analysis, Northern Research Station scientists and University of Michigan partners have found that forest soils can potentially sequester two billion tons of carbon this century with increased reforestation efforts.

Map showing the location of projects supported by the Radiocarbon Collaborative.

Radiocarbon sheds light on climate change and carbon cycle

Year: 2017

The Forest Service provides nationwide support for carbon and climate research through the Radiocarbon Collaborative, which has supported a wide range of projects that have produced high-impact publications, as well as important information for land managers and conservationists. In 2017, the Radiocarbon Collaborative launched an online resource center featuring radiocarbon information and social networking opportunities.

Staff at Mississippi Park Connection are testing bald cypress and black tupelo as potential replacements to ash trees lost to emerald ash borer at Pigs Eye Park in Saint Paul, MN. These species were chosen because they are adapted to warmer temperatures and flooding.

Adapting urban forests to a changing climate

Year: 2017

A framework for urban forest vulnerability assessment and adaptation, piloted with partners in the Chicago region, is informing master planning for urban trees in the city of Chicago and is expanding to other urban areas in the Midwest and Northeast.

The Adaptation Workbook online tool is a structured tool for land managers to use to integrate climate change into management plans. Users of the tool draw from ecosystem vulnerability assessments published by the Forest Service’s Northern Research Station. Danielle Shannon, Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science.

Resources Help Land Managers Adapt to a Changing Climate

Year: 2016

An adaptation planning tool developed by the Forest Service and its partners has helped generate more than 185 examples of climate change adaptation across the Northeast and Midwest.

Village Of Riverside, one of 10 communities participating in the pilot effort in the Chicago Wilderness region. Michael Collins, Village of Riverside

Urban Forestry Climate Change Response Framework Pilot Launched

Year: 2015

Forest Service scientists are working to incorporate climate change considerations into urban forest management in the Chicago area. Recently, they co-sponsored, with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, two workshops and a national conference.

The Forest Service's Northern Research Station published a series of assessments that describe the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. Northern Research Station, USDA Forest Service

Scientists Collaborate to Deliver Best Science on Climate Change and Forests

Year: 2014

It's a challenge to bring partners together, but the Forest Service led more than 130 scientists and natural resource managers in the creation of a comprehensive set of assessments on the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems. Five vulnerability assessments created as a series synthesizes key information for natural resources professionals.

Natural resource professionals discuss how forests can adapt to climate change. Photo courtesy of Eli Sagor, Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative. Science teachers visit an adaptation demonstration project developed by the Bad River Natural Resources Department, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. Photo courtesy of G-WOW team. Eli Sagor, Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative.

Adaptation Demonstrations Provide Real World Examples of Climate Change Response

Year: 2014

Climate change will have long-term effects on forest ecosystems, and the services they provide. High-quality scientific information is critical, but this information also needs to be integrated into natural resource management. The Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, a multi-institutional effort led by the Forest Service, worked with partners to create adaptation demonstrations of real-world examples of how forest owners and natural resource professionals are adapting forests to changing conditions.

Scientists and Managers Work To Develop Climate-Smart Conservation Strategies

Year: 2012

Project that addresses the needs of land managers in a changing climate has expanded to nine States and more than 133 million acres

Assessing vulnerability of northern Wisconsin's Forests_Northern Wisconsin's ecosystems are vulnerable to climate change; the assessment provides important information to land managers. Tom Matthiae, Forest Service

Assessing the Vulnerability of Northern Wisconsin's Forests to Climate Change

Year: 2011

A team of scientists and managers from the Forest Service and other organizations assessed the vulnerability of northern Wisconsin forests to climate change. The assessment summarizes multiple scientific research efforts and synthesizes the issues most salient to land managers.

Climate Change Resource Center Website Now Includes Science Information from Northern and Southern Research Stations

Year: 2010

The Climate Change Resource Center (CCRC) website, which has provided practical, science-based information on managing ecosystems under climate change to USFS land managers in the western United States, has been expanded to encompass a broader geography.

Climate Change Response Framework Project in Northern Wisconsin Models Strategies for Preparing for Global Climate Change Effects

Year: 2010

The Northern Research Station' Northern Institute of Applied Carbon Science and its cooperators---the Eastern Region, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry---have developed an exciting new approach to preparing adaptive strategies for possible global climate changes. Although this project is focused on forests in northern Wisconsin, the participants hope that it will be a model for many regions and ecotypes. The Climate Change Response Framework Project (CCRFP) has reached out to involve not just scientists and organizational stakeholders but private forest landowners, tribal nations, and local governments in the gathering, assessing, synthesizing, and sharing of information.

Last modified: Thursday, February 3, 2022