Skip to main content
Male with long brown hair and a beard wearing a blue and gold shirt with large floral pattern

Justin Mathias, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

We want to make good time with the emphasis on 'good' rather than 'time' and when you make that shift in emphasis the whole approach changes. —Robert M. Pirsig

Currently accepting new graduate students!

Teaching Interests

Global change ecology, biogeochemistry, ecological modeling, biometry

Research Interests

Research in the Mathias Lab focuses on understanding the impacts of environmental change on ecosystem biogeochemistry through foundational and use-inspired research. Current projects include investigating the legacy effects of nitrogen deposition on forest carbon and nutrient cycling, resolving the impact of wildfires on forest ecophysiology and biogeochemistry, understanding how trees can record historical nitrogen cycling dynamics, and how farm management practices influence soil carbon and crop yield. Dr. Mathias has teaching interests in global change ecology, biogeochemistry, and biological statistics.

Current research projects include:

  1. Understanding the legacy effects of decades of nitrogen deposition on forest biogeochemistry in eastern US forests
  2. Investigating the impact of wildfire on coupled above- and belowground processes in eastern US forests.
  3. Resolving the impact of wildfire smoke on carbon cycling in western US forests
  4. Examining how changes in climate and atmospheric chemistry have altered plant physiology since the onset of the industrial revolution
  5. Improving the representation of plant physiology and ecosystem biogeochemistry in process-based models
  6. Determining how farm management practices impact soil carbon sequestration and crop yield


Return to Listing