515-294-5612, Fax 515-294-2995
arussell@iastate.edu
Website

B.S., Cornell University, 1976
M.S., University of Florida, 1983
Ph.D., Iowa State University, 1996

Research

Dr. Russell is a terrestrial ecosystems ecologist, with special expertise in the biogeochemistry of tropical and managed ecosystems. Her research addresses links between plant-species traits and ecosystems processes, focusing on species and management effects on belowground processes, and subsequent implications for human impacts on soil fertility and carbon sequestration. The significant contribution of her research is that it sheds light on basic theory regarding effects of plant diversity and species composition on the landscape, and the mechanisms by which species influence the structure and functioning of ecosystems. In her field and modeling research in experimental tropical and corn-belt agricultural systems, she investigates linkages between plant production (quantity, chemistry and allocation of above- and belowground components), soil organic matter (SOM) quantity and quality, microbial activity, soil respiration, decomposition, and net N mineralization. She explores management and species effects on soil carbon dynamics using process-based models, including CENTURY, and statistical models. Her research is designed to enhance our understanding of human impacts on the biosphere, improve biogeochemical models, and help guide selection of species for management of agroecosystems in a sustainable manner.

Publications

Russell, A. E. and J. W. Raich. 2012. Rapidly growing tropical trees mobilize remarkable amounts of nitrogen, in ways that differ surprisingly among species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. http://www.pnas.org/content/109/26/10398

Russell, A. 2012. Rainforest carbon cycling and biodiversity: A simulation model learning tool. EcoEd Digital Library, http://ecoed.esa.org/?P=FullRecord&ID=429.

Saatchi, S., M. Marlier, R. L Chazdon, D. B. Clark, A. E. Russell. 2011. Impact of spatial variability of tropical forest structure on radar estimation of aboveground. Remote Sensing of Environment, Special Issue: VEG3D. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2010.07.015

Russell, A. E., J. W. Raich, R. Bedoya, O. Valverde-Barrantes, and E. González.  2010. Impacts of individual tree species on carbon dynamics in a moist tropical forest environment.  Ecological Applications 20(4): 1087-1100.

Russell, A. E., J. W. Raich, R. Bedoya, O. Valverde-Barrantes, and E. González. 2010. Carbon dynamics in the tropics. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America: Vol. 91, No. 2, pp. 224-225. doi: 10.1890/0012-9623-91.2.224.

Raich, J. W., A. E. Russell and O. Valverde-Barrantes. 2009.  Fine root decay rates vary widely among lowland tropical tree species.  Oecologia 161: 325-330.  DOI: 10.1007/s00442-009-1379-9.

Russell, A. E., C. A. Cambardella, D. A. Laird, D. B. Jaynes, and D. W. Meek. 2009.  Nitrogen fertilizer effects on soil carbon balances in Midwestern U.S. agricultural systems. Ecological Applications 19(5):1102-1113.

Russell, A. E., R. F. Fisher and J. W. Raich. 2007. Tree species effects on soil properties in experimental plantations in tropical moist forest.  Soil Science Society of America 71:1389-1397.

Raich, J. W., A. E. Russell and R. Bedoya-Arrieta. 2007. Lignin and enhanced litter turnover in tree plantations of lowland Costa Rica.  Forest Ecology and Management 239:128-135.

Valverde-Barrantes, O., J. W. Raich and A. E. Russell.  2007. Fine-root mass, growth and nutrient content for six tropical tree species. Plant and Soil 290:357-370.

Raich, J. W., A. E. Russell, K. Kitayama, W. J. Parton, and P. M. Vitousek. 2006. Temperature influences carbon accumulation in moist tropical forest. Ecology 87(1): 76-87.

Russell, A. E., D. A. Laird, and A. P. Mallarino. 2006. Impact of nitrogen fertilization and cropping system on soil quality in midwestern Mollisols. Soil Science Society of America Journal 70: 249-255.

Raich, J. W., A. E. Russell, K. Kitayama, W. J. Parton, and P. M. Vitousek. 2006. Temperature influences carbon accumulation in moist tropical forest. Ecology 87(1): 76-87.

Russell, A. E., D. A. Laird, T. B. Parkin, and A. P. Mallarino. 2005. Impact of nitrogen fertilization and cropping system on carbon sequestration in midwestern Mollisols. Soil Science Society of America Journal 69:413-422.

Russell, A. E., C. A. Cambardella, J. J. Ewel, and T. B. Parkin. 2004. Species, rotation-frequency, and life-form diversity effects on soil carbon in experimental tropical systems. Ecological Applications 14(1): 47-60.

Russell, A. E. 2002. Relationships between functional crop diversity and soil attributes in southwestern Indian agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 92: 235-249.

Raich, J. W., W. J. Parton, P. M. Vitousek, A.E. Russell and R.L. Sanford Jr. 2000. Environmental regulation of ecosystem development during primary succession in Hawaii. Biogeochemistry 51: 161-191.

Russell, A. E., T. A. Ranker, C. Gemmill and D. Farrar. Patterns of clonal diversity in Dicranopteris linearis on Mauna Loa, Hawai‘i 1999. Biotropica 31(3): 449-459.

Russell, A. E., J. W. Raich, and P. M. Vitousek. 1998. The ecology of the climbing fern Dicranopteris linearis on windward Mauna Loa, Hawai’i, USA. Journal of Ecology 86(5): 765-779.

Russell, A. E. and P. M. Vitousek. 1997. Decomposition and potential nitrogen fixation in Dicranopteris linearis litter on Mauna Loa, Hawai’i, USA. Journal of Tropical Ecology 13: 579-594.

Raich, J. W., A. E. Russell, and P. M. Vitousek. 1997. Primary productivity and ecosystem development along an elevational gradient on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Ecology 78: 707-721.

Raich, J. W., A. E. Russell, T. E. Crews, H. Farrington, and P. M. Vitousek. 1996. Both nitrogen and phosphorus limit plant production on young Hawaiian lava flows. Biogeochemistry 32:1-14.