{"id":19,"date":"2023-02-28T14:59:04","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T21:59:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/?page_id=19"},"modified":"2025-08-28T08:46:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:46:24","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignwide is-not-stacked-on-mobile is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cropped-cropped-environment-effect-3.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-138\" style=\"width:120px;height:120px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cropped-cropped-environment-effect-3.png 190w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/cropped-cropped-environment-effect-3-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse has-primary-color has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\"><em>Walker Lab\nDisturbance and Ecosytem Ecology<\/em><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<nav class=\"has-text-color has-primary-color has-background has-custom-color-4-background-color has-small-font-size is-responsive items-justified-center no-wrap alignfull wp-block-navigation is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-navigation-is-layout-8589c9b4 wp-block-navigation-is-layout-flex\" aria-label=\"Header navigation\" \n\t\t data-wp-interactive=\"core\/navigation\" data-wp-context='{\"overlayOpenedBy\":{\"click\":false,\"hover\":false,\"focus\":false},\"type\":\"overlay\",\"roleAttribute\":\"\",\"ariaLabel\":\"Menu\"}'><button aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-label=\"Open menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-open\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.openMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"M4 7.5h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><path d=\"M4 15h16v1.5H4z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container\"  id=\"modal-1\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--has-modal-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-class--is-menu-open=\"state.isMenuOpen\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.initMenu\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--keydown=\"actions.handleMenuKeydown\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--focusout=\"actions.handleMenuFocusout\"\n\t\t\t\ttabindex=\"-1\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-close\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-dialog\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-modal=\"state.ariaModal\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.ariaLabel\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--role=\"state.roleAttribute\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button aria-label=\"Close menu\" class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-close\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.closeMenuOnClick\"\n\t\t\t><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\"><path d=\"m13.06 12 6.47-6.47-1.06-1.06L12 10.94 5.53 4.47 4.47 5.53 10.94 12l-6.47 6.47 1.06 1.06L12 13.06l6.47 6.47 1.06-1.06L13.06 12Z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-navigation__responsive-container-content\" \n\t\t\t\tdata-wp-watch=\"callbacks.focusFirstElement\"\n\t\t\t id=\"modal-1-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"wp-block-navigation__container has-text-color has-primary-color has-background has-custom-color-4-background-color has-small-font-size is-responsive items-justified-center no-wrap alignfull wp-block-navigation has-small-font-size\"><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Home<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/people\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">People<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/research\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Research<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/prospective-students\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Prospective Students<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/publications\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Publications<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/photos\/\"><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Photos<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=UNmwcv8AAAAJ&#038;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\"  ><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Google Scholar<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/ecoss.nau.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\"  ><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">Ecoss<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"has-small-font-size wp-block-navigation-item wp-block-navigation-link\"><a class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__content\"  href=\"https:\/\/macklab.nau.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\"  ><span class=\"wp-block-navigation-item__label\">MackLab<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/nav>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover alignfull\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1535\" class=\"wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-280\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/0106_michelle_mack_20210720.jpeg\" style=\"object-position:50% 24%\" data-object-fit=\"cover\" data-object-position=\"50% 24%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/0106_michelle_mack_20210720.jpeg 2048w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/0106_michelle_mack_20210720-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/0106_michelle_mack_20210720-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/0106_michelle_mack_20210720-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/0106_michelle_mack_20210720-1536x1151.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-base-background-color has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"><\/span><div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-cover-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-xx-large-font-size\"><strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-custom-color-4-color\">Current Research Projects<\/mark><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:47% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220719_135350-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220719_135350-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220719_135350-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220719_135350-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220719_135350.jpg 1206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Legacy Carbon<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">We are investigating how increasing wildfires impact the long-term carbon storage of boreal and Arctic ecosystems. Carbon in these ecosystems is primarily stored in soils and periodic wildfires release some of this carbon to the atmosphere. Soil carbon that escapes burning is called &#8216;legacy carbon&#8217;. The intensification of wildfires can combust legacy carbon and shift northern ecosystems from a carbon sink to a carbon source to the atmosphere. Our field based research aims is to determine the processes that control legacy carbon combustion.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Fire Self Regulation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This research seeks to understand how vegetation change associated with increasing boreal forest wildfires and climate warming will impact future fire activity.&nbsp; We&nbsp;are&nbsp;combining field and remote sensing data to quantify decadal patterns of burning and estimate the direction and magnitude of self-regulation processes under different climate and ecoregion conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220602_152041-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-91 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220602_152041-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220602_152041-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220602_152041-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220602_152041.jpg 1206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220723_121320-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-101 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220723_121320-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220723_121320-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220723_121320-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220723_121320.jpg 1206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Drivers and Impacts of Reburning<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This project aims to determine where and when reburning occurs and determine the consequences of reburning for post-fire successional trajectories. We are combining field and remote sensing data to assess the dynamics of reburning across four ecoregions of the boreal forest.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Sustainable Fuelbreaks<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We seek to improve our understanding of short and long-term ecological effects of fuel treatments and maintenance requirements. We will estimate rates of fuel recovery across different types of fuel treatments and ecoregions and use experiments to test whether vegetation successional trajectories can be directed toward creating longer-lasting treatments with lower maintenance costs.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220526_093311-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-90 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220526_093311-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220526_093311-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220526_093311-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220526_093311-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220526_093311-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220725_130643-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-102 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220725_130643-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220725_130643-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220725_130643-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220725_130643-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/20220725_130643-2048x1536.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Bonanza Creek Long Term Ecological Research<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our research within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lter.uaf.edu\/boreal-forest\/disturbance\">BNZ Creek LTER<\/a> focuses on how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>1) intensifying fire regimes are reshaping the structure and function of Alaskan boreal forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>2) population dynamics of consumers interact with climate change to shape patterns of ecological succession<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>3) fires and ground ice impact thawing permafrost and the loss of C to the atmosphere<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Walker Lab Disturbance and Ecosytem Ecology Legacy Carbon We are investigating how increasing wildfires impact the long-term carbon storage of boreal and Arctic ecosystems. Carbon in these ecosystems is primarily stored in soils and periodic wildfires release some of this carbon to the atmosphere. Soil carbon that escapes burning is called &#8216;legacy carbon&#8217;. The intensification [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"blank","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-19","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":437,"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions\/437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ac.nau.edu\/xwalkerlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}