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
    2025 Permafrost pore structure and its influence on microbial diversity: Insights from X-ray computed tomography.  Geoderma.  454:117192-117192. 2025
    2024 Microbiome-metabolite linkages drive greenhouse gas dynamics over a permafrost thaw gradient..  Nature Microbiology.  9:2892-2908. 2024
    2024 Microbial polyphenol metabolism is part of the thawing permafrost carbon cycle..  Nature Microbiology.  9:1454-1466. 2024
    2024 Ten "simple" rules for non-Indigenous researchers engaging Indigenous communities in Arctic research..  PLoS Computational Biology.  20:e1012093. 2024
    2024 What is microbial dormancy?.  Trends in Microbiology.  32:142-150. 2024
    2023 Frequent defoliation of perennial legume-grass bicultures alters soil carbon dynamics.  Plant and Soil.  490:423-434. 2023
    2023 The emergence of convergence.  Elementa.  11. 2023
    2023 Greater regulation of permafrost organic matter composition by enzymes and redox than temperature.  Soil Biology and Biochemistry.  180:108991-108991. 2023
    2023 Nutrients Alter Methane Production and Oxidation in a Thawing Permafrost Mire.  Ecosystems.  26:302-317. 2023
    2023 Tillage and pesticide seed treatments have distinct effects on soil microbial diversity and function.  Soil 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 tillage.  Elementa.  10. 2022
    2022 Permafrost and Climate Change: Carbon Cycle Feedbacks From the Warming Arctic.  Annual 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 Lawns.  Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR): Biogeosciences.  127. 2022
    2022 Dominance of Diffusive Methane Emissions From Lowland Headwater Streams Promotes Oxidation and Isotopic Enrichment.  Frontiers 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 Change.  Earth's Future.  9. 2021
    2021 A combined microbial and ecosystem metric of carbon retention efficiency explains land cover-dependent soil microbial biodiversity–ecosystem function relationships.  Biogeochemistry.  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 research.  PeerJ.  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 procedures.  Earth 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 soils.  Geoderma.  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 permafrost.  Biogeochemistry.  134:183-200. 2017
    2016 Potential carbon emissions dominated by carbon dioxide from thawed permafrost soils.  Nature Climate Change.  6:950-+. 2016
    2015 Permafrost microbial community traits and functional diversity indicate low activity at in situ thaw temperatures.  Soil 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 Profile.  Soil 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
    Microbial Ecology of Permafrost Soils: Populations, Processes, and Perspectives.  Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. 
    We Must Stop Fossil Fuel Emissions to Protect Permafrost Ecosystems.  Frontiers in Environmental Science.  10.

    Article

    Year Title
    2025 Rhizosphere Bacteria and Fungi are Differentially Structured by Host Plants, Soil Mineralogy and Ectomycorrhizal Communities in the Alaskan Tundra 2025

    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
  • Addressing Arctic Challenges Taught course 2024
  • Addressing Arctic Challenges I Taught course 2024
  • 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