Institution: University of Michigan
Department: Department of Geological Sciences
1100 N University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1063
Hubbard Brook Role: Investigator
JoelBlum

Research Interests

Blum’s research group studies geochemical controls on the structure and function of ecosystems, as well as trace elements and isotope geochemistry across the field of Earth and Environmental Sciences. Blum’s recent research has focused on understanding the chemistry of mercury in aquatic, terrestrial and atmospheric systems. Blum and his research group have developed methods for utilizing mercury stable isotopes in ecology and environmental geochemistry. Other areas of scientific inquiry that Blum has studied include the petrogenesis of igneous rocks, mineral weathering and its effect on global climate, arsenic and lead in groundwater and soils, and the effects of acid deposition and atmospheric dust on nutrient cycling in forests.

Hubbard Brook Publications by this Author

Taylor, L. L., Driscoll, C. T., Groffman, P. M., Rau, G. H., Blum, J. D., & Beerling, D. J. (2021). Increased carbon capture by a silicate-treated forested watershed affected by acid deposition. Biogeosciences, 18(1), 169–188. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-169-2021
Tsz-Ki Tsui, M., Liu, S., Brasso, R. L., Blum, J. D., Kwon, S. Y., Ulus, Y., Nollet, Y. H., Balogh, S. J., Eggert, S. L., & Finlay, J. C. (2019). Controls of Methylmercury Bioaccumulation in Forest Floor Food Webs. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(5), 2434–2440. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b06053
Tsui, M. T.-K., Liu, S., Brasso, R. L., Blum, J. D., Kwon, S. Y., Ulus, Y., Nollet, Y. H., Balogh, S. J., Eggert, S. L., & Finlay, J. C. (2019). Controls of Methylmercury Bioaccumulation in Forest Floor Food Webs. Environmental Science & Technology. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b06053
Fahey, T., Heinz, A. K., Battles, J. J., Fisk, M. C., Driscoll, C. T., Blum, J. D., & Johnson, C. E. (2016). Fine root biomass declined in response to restoration of soil calcium in a northern hardwood forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, ja. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2015-0434
Shao, S., Driscoll, C. T., Johnson, C. E., Fahey, T. J., Battles, J. J., & Blum, J. D. (2015). Long-term responses in soil solution and stream-water chemistry at Hubbard Brook after experimental addition of wollastonite. Environmental Chemistry. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/EN15113
Cleavitt, N. L., Battles, J. J., Fahey, T. J., & Blum, J. D. (2014). Determinants of survival over 7 years for a natural cohort of sugar maple seedlings in a northern hardwood forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 44(9), 1112–1121. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2014-0177
Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Hamburg, S. P., Yanai, R. D., & Blum, J. D. (2014). Rates of sustainable forest harvest depend on rotation length and weathering of soil minerals. Forest Ecology and Management, 318, 194–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.01.012
Johnson, C. E., Driscoll, C. T., Blum, J. D., Fahey, T. J., & Battles, J. J. (2014). Soil Chemical Dynamics after Calcium Silicate Addition to a Northern Hardwood Forest. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 78(4), 1458. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2014.03.0114
Battles, J. J., Fahey, T. J., Driscoll, C. T., Blum, J. D., & Johnson, C. E. (2013). Restoring Soil Calcium Reverses Forest Decline. Environmental Science & Technology Letters. https://doi.org/10.1021/ez400033d
Cho, Y., Driscoll, C. T., Johnson, C. E., Blum, J. D., & Fahey, T. J. (2012). Watershed-Level Responses to Calcium Silicate Treatment in a Northern Hardwood Forest. Ecosystems, 15(3), 416–434. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-012-9518-2
Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Hamburg, S. P., Blum, J. D., Pennino, M. J., Yanai, R. D., & Johnson, C. E. (2012). The Quantitative Soil Pit Method for Measuring Belowground Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks. Soil Science Society of America Journal, In Press.
Lucash, M. S., Yanai, R. D., Blum, J. D., & Park, B. B. (2012). Foliar Nutrient Concentrations Related to Soil Sources across a Range of Sites in the Northeastern United States. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 76(2), 674. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2011.0160
Fahey, T. J., & Blum, J. D. (2011). Litter layers (O-ie) as a calcium source of sugar maple seedlings in a northern hardwood forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 41(4), 898–901. https://doi.org/10.1139/x11-023
Cho, Y., Driscoll, C. T., Johnson, C. E., Blum, J. D., & Fahey, T. J. (2011). Landscape Response and Solute Fluxes in Soil Solution and Stream Water in a Calcium-Treated Watershed in the Northeastern United States. Ecosystems, 15, 416–434.
Schaller, M., Blum, J. D., Hamburg, S. P., & Vadeboncoeur, M. A. (2010). Spatial variability of long-term chemical weathering rates in the White Mountains, New Hampshire, USA. Geoderma, 154(3–4), 294–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2009.10.017
Nezat, C. A., Blum, J. D., & Driscoll, C. T. (2010). Patterns of Ca/Sr and 87Sr/86Sr variation before and after a whole watershed CaSiO3 addition at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, USA. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 74, 3129–3142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2010.03.013
Cho, Y., Driscoll, C. T., & Blum, J. (2009). The effects of a whole-watershed calcium addition on the chemistry of stream storm events at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in NH, USA. Science of the Total Environment, 407(20), 5392–5401.
Nezat, C. A., Blum, J. D., Yanai, R. D., Hamburg, S. P., & Park, B. B. (2008). Mineral sources of calcium and phosphorus in soils of the northeastern USA. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 72(6), 1786–1794.
Blum, J. D., Dasch, A. A., Hamburg, S. P., Yanai, R. D., & Arthur, M. A. (2008). Use of foliar Ca/Sr discrimination and 87Sr/86Sr ratios to determine soil Ca sources to sugar maple foliage in a northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry, 87, 287–296.
Skeldon, M. A., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Hamburg, S. P., & Blum, J. D. (2007). Terrestrial gastropod responses to an ecosystem-level calcium manipulation in a northern hardwood forest. Can. J. Zool., 85, 994–1007.
Nezat, C. A., Blum, J. D., Yanai, R. D., & Hamburg, S. P. (2007). A sequential extraction to selectively dissolve apatite for determination of soil nutrient pools with an application to Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA. Applied Geochemistry, 22, 2406–2421.
Dasch, A. A., Blum, J. D., Eagar, C., Fahey, T. J., Driscoll, C. T., & Siccama, T. G. (2006). The relative uptake of Ca and Sr into tree foliage using a whole-watershed calcium addition. Biogeochemistry, 80(1), 21–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-6008-z
Dasch, A. A., Blum, J. D., Eagar, C., Fahey, T. J., Driscoll, C. T., & Siccama, T. G. (2006). The relative uptake of Ca and Sr into tree foliage using a whole-watershed calcium addition. Biogeochemistry, 80(1), 21–41.
Yanai, R. D., Blum, J. D., Hamburg, S. P., Arthur, M. A., Nezat, C. A., & Siccama, T. G. (2005). New insights into calcium depletion in northeastern forests. J. Forestry, 103(1), 14–20.
Peters, S. C., Blum, J. D., Driscoll, C. T., & Likens, G. E. (2004). Dissolution of wollastonite during the experimental manipulation of Hubbard Brook Watershed 1. Biogeochemistry, 67(3), 309–329.
Nezat, C. A., Blum, J. D., Klaue, A., Johnson, C. E., & Siccama, T. G. (2004). Influence of landscape position and vegetation on long-term weathering rates at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, U.S. A. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 68(14), 3065–3078.
Hamburg, S. P., Yanai, R. D., Arthur, M. A., Blum, J. D., & Siccama, T. G. (2003). Biotic control of calcium cycling in northern hardwood forests: Acid rain and aging forests. Ecosystems, 6(4), 399–406.
Peters, S. C., & Blum, J. D. (2003). The source and transport of srsenic in a bedrock aquifer, New Hampshire, USA. Applied Geochemistry, 18(11), 1773–1787.
Hogan, J. F., & Blum, J. D. (2003). Tracing hydrologic flow paths in a small forested watershed using variations in 87Sr/86Sr, [Ca]/[Sr], [Ba]/[Sr] and 18O. Water Resources Research, 39(10), 1282.
Blum, J. D., Klaue, A., Nezat, C. A., Driscoll, C. T., Johnson, C. E., Siccama, T. G., Eagar, C., Fahey, T. J., & Likens, G. E. (2002). Mycorrhizal weathering of apatite as an important calcium source in base-poor forest ecosystems. Nature, 417, 729–731.
Taliaferro, E. H., Holmes, R. T., & Blum, J. D. (2001). Eggshell characteristics and calcium demands of a migratory songbird breeding in two New England forests. Wilson Bull., 113(1), 94–100.
Blum, J. D., Taliaferro, E. H., & Holmes, R. T. (2001). Determining the sources of calcium for migratory songbirds using stable strontium isotopes. Oecologia, 126, 569–574.
Blum, J. D., Taliaferro, E. H., Weisse, M. T., & Holmes, R. T. (2000). Changes in Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca and 87Sr/86Sr ratios between trophic levels in two forest ecosystems in the northeastern U.S.A. Biogeochemistry, 49, 87–101.
Hogan, J. F., Blum, J. D., & Driscoll, C. T. (2000). Concentration-Discharge relationships during storm events at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, USA. Eos, 81(48), F465.
Chamberlain, C. P., Blum, J. D., Holmes, R. T., Feng, X., Sherry, T. W., & Graves, G. R. (1997). The use of isotope tracers for identifying populations of migratory birds. Oecologia, 109, 132–141.