Positions

Research Areas research areas

Overview

  • My research interests lie in how microbial communities and soil chemistry interact to affect ecosystem function. I use genomics and stable isotopes as my main tools. I have worked in a variety of ecosystems from the Australian Outback to permafrost-affected Arctic tundra. I am currently developing projects exploring how agricultural management affects microbial diversity and function in New Hampshire.
  • Selected Publications

    Academic Article

    Year Title
    2023 Frequent defoliation of perennial legume-grass bicultures alters soil carbon dynamicsPlant and Soil: international journal on plant-soil relationships.  490:423-434. 2023
    2023 Greater regulation of permafrost organic matter composition by enzymes and redox than temperatureSoil Biology and Biochemistry.  180:108991-108991. 2023
    2023 Tillage and pesticide seed treatments have distinct effects on soil microbial diversity and functionSoil Biology and Biochemistry.  176:108860-108860. 2023
    2022 Clarifying the evidence for microbial- and plant-derived soil organic matter, and the path toward a more quantitative understanding.Global Change Biology.  28:7167-7185. 2022
    2022 Soil microbial communities vary in composition and functional strategy across soil aggregate size class regardless of tillageElementa.  10. 2022
    2022 Permafrost and Climate Change: Carbon Cycle Feedbacks From the Warming ArcticAnnual Review of Environment and Resources.  47:343-371. 2022
    2022 Microbiome assembly in thawing permafrost and its feedbacks to climate.Global Change Biology.  28:5007-5026. 2022
    2022 Microtopography Matters: Belowground CH4 Cycling Regulated by Differing Microbial Processes in Peatland Hummocks and LawnsJournal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences.  127. 2022
    2022 Nutrients Alter Methane Production and Oxidation in a Thawing Permafrost MireEcosystems.  26:302-317. 2022
    2022 Dominance of Diffusive Methane Emissions From Lowland Headwater Streams Promotes Oxidation and Isotopic EnrichmentFrontiers in Environmental Science.  9. 2022
    2021 Is A Common Goal A False Hope in Convergence Research?: Opportunities and Challenges of International Convergence Research to Address Arctic ChangeEarth's Future.  9. 2021
    2021 A combined microbial and ecosystem metric of carbon retention efficiency explains land cover-dependent soil microbial biodiversity-ecosystem function relationshipsBiogeochemistry: an international journal.  153:1-15. 2021
    2021 Altered microbial structure and function after thermokarst formation.Global Change Biology.  27:823-835. 2021
    2020 The IsoGenie database: an interdisciplinary data management solution for ecosystems biology and environmental researchPeerJ.  8:e9467-e9467. 2020
    2020 Long-term effects of copper exposure to agricultural soil function and microbial community structure at a controlled and experimental field site.Environmental Pollution.  263:114411. 2020
    2020 Decomposability of soil organic matter over time: the Soil Incubation Database (SIDb, version 1.0) and guidance for incubation proceduresEarth System Science Data.  12:1511-1524. 2020
    2020 Assessing the sensitivity and repeatability of permanganate oxidizable carbon as a soil health metric: An interlab comparison across soilsGeoderma.  366:114235-114235. 2020
    2020 Heavy metals in the Arctic: Distribution and enrichment of five metals in Alaskan soils.PLoS ONE.  15:e0233297. 2020
    2020 The Transition From Stochastic to Deterministic Bacterial Community Assembly During Permafrost Thaw Succession.Frontiers in Microbiology.  11:596589. 2020
    2018 The Microbiome Stress Project: Toward a Global Meta-Analysis of Environmental Stressors and Their Effects on Microbial Communities.Frontiers in Microbiology.  9:3272. 2018
    2017 Redox and temperature-sensitive changes in microbial communities and soil chemistry dictate greenhouse gas loss from thawed permafrostBiogeochemistry: an international journal.  134:183-200. 2017
    2016 Potential carbon emissions dominated by carbon dioxide from thawed permafrost soilsNature Climate Change.  6:950-+. 2016
    2015 Permafrost microbial community traits and functional diversity indicate low activity at in situ thaw temperaturesSoil Biology and Biochemistry.  87:78-89. 2015
    2015 A pan-Arctic synthesis of CH4 and CO2 production from anoxic soil incubations.Global Change Biology.  21:2787-2803. 2015
    2015 Chemical Indicators of Cryoturbation and Microbial Processing throughout an Alaskan Permafrost Soil Depth ProfileSoil Science Society of America Journal.  79:783-793. 2015
    2014 Predicted responses of arctic and alpine ecosystems to altered seasonality under climate change.Global Change Biology.  20:3256-3269. 2014
    We Must Stop Fossil Fuel Emissions to Protect Permafrost EcosystemsFrontiers in Environmental Science.  10.

    Chapter

    Year Title
    2011 Controls on the Temperature Sensitivity of Soil Enzymes: A Key Driver of In Situ Enzyme Activity Rates.  245-258. 2011

    Teaching Activities

  • Work Experience Taught course 2023
  • Arctic Ecology and Society Taught course 2022
  • Arctic Ecology and Society Taught course 2022
  • Contemporary Conservatn Issues Taught course 2022
  • Work Experience Taught course 2022
  • Work Experience Taught course 2022
  • Arctic Ecology and Society Taught course 2022
  • Arctic Ecology and Society Taught course 2022
  • Contemporary Conservatn Issues Taught course 2021
  • Soil Ecology Taught course 2021
  • Arctic Ecology and Society Taught course 2021
  • Arctic Ecology and Society Taught course 2021
  • Contemporary Conservatn Issues Taught course 2020
  • Soil Ecology Taught course 2020
  • Adv Rsrch Exp/Natural Res Taught course 2020
  • Contemporary Conservatn Issues Taught course 2019
  • Adv Rsrch Exp/Natural Res Taught course 2019
  • Inv/Ecol &Soc Changing Arctic Taught course 2019
  • Investigations Taught course 2019
  • Adv Rsrch Exp/Natural Resource Taught course 2018
  • Soil Ecology Taught course 2018
  • Sem/Hot Topic in a Cold Place Taught course 2018
  • Education And Training

    Full Name

  • Jessica Ernakovich
  • Mailing Address

  • University of New Hampshire

    Natural Resources and the Environment

    56 College Rd.

    Durham, New Hampshire  03824

    United States