CIRES Council of Fellows>

Noah Fierer

Ph.D., Ecology, University of California – Santa Barbara, 2003
Assistant Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department

E-mail: fierer@cires.colorado.edu
Web: EBIO
Office: CIRES 1B56
Phone: 303-492-5615

Research Interests

Microbial ecology. Terrestrial ecosystem ecology. Microbial biogeography. Impact of global change factors on microbial communities and processes.

Current Research

• Biogeography of soil microbial communities at continental and regional scales.
• Impact of nutrient additions on carbon and nitrogen cycling in soil.
• Methods of microbial community analysis in habitats with high levels of microbial diversity.
• Understanding those factors which influence the structure and diversity of archaeal, fungal, bacterial, and viral communities in the soil environment.
• Characterizing the microorganisms found in the atmosphere and the effects of land-use change on airborne microbial populations.

Selected Publications

• N. Fierer , R.B. Jackson. In Press. The diversity and biogeography of soil bacterial communities. PNAS.
• N. Fierer, O.A. Chadwick, S.E. Trumbore. 2005. Production of CO2 in soil profiles of a California annual grassland. Ecosystems. 8: 412-429.
• N. Fierer, J.A. Jackson, R. Vilgalys, R.B. Jackson. 2005. Assessment of soil microbial community structure by use of taxon-specific quantitative PCR assays. Applied & Environmental Microbiology. 71 (7): 4117-4120.
• N. Fierer, J. Craine, K. McLauchlan, J.P. Schimel. 2005. Carbon quality and the temperature sensitivity of litter decomposition. Ecology. 86 (2): 320-326.
• N. Fierer, A.S. Allen, J.P. Schimel, P.A. Holden. 2003. Controls on microbial CO2 production: a comparison of surface and subsurface soil horizons. Global Change Biology. 9: 1322-1332.
• N. Fierer, J.P. Schimel, P.A. Holden. 2003. Variation in microbial community composition through two soil depth profiles. Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 35: 167-176.
• N. Fierer, J.P. Schimel, P.A. Holden. 2003. Influence of drying-rewetting frequency on soil bacterial community structure. Microbial Ecology. 45: 63-71.
• N. Fierer, E.J. Gabet. 2002. Carbon and nitrogen losses by surface runoff following changes in vegetation. Journal of Environmental Quality. 31: 1207-1213.
• N. Fierer, J.P. Schimel, R.G. Cates, J. Zou. 2001. The influence of balsam poplar tannin fractions on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in Alaskan taiga floodplain soils. Soil Biology & Biochemistry. 33: 1827-1839