Institution: University of California Berkeley
Department: Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
130 Mulford Hall #3114
Berkeley, CA 94720
Hubbard Brook Role: Investigator, Scientific Coordinating Committee
Phone: (510) 643-0684
Email: jbattles@berkeley.edu
ORCID: 0000-0001-7124-7893
Website: https://nature.berkeley.edu/battleslab/
JohnBattles

Research Interests

The goal of our lab is to know how and why forests change. Given the scope of human enterprise (e.g., pollution, land transformations, biotic additions and losses), many forest ecosystems are experiencing fundamentally novel challenges. In the face of this uncertainty, we need to understand the dynamics well enough to anticipate the likely direction and magnitude of responses. These insights must apply to forests in the real world with all the attendant complexities. Therefore robust, quantitative field studies form the core of my research program. The objective is to produce answers to pertinent questions that a physicist accepts as valid and that a naturalist acknowledges as authentic. Currently our research centers on three basic questions: 1) the interactive control of the disturbance regime on ecosystem processes; 2) the explicit effects of tree demography on community composition and ecosystem function; and 3) the mechanisms of resource capture and allocation in forests under conditions of multiple resource limitation.

Hubbard Brook Publications by this Author

Contosta, A. R., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., Driscoll, C. T., Garlick, S. R., Holmes, R. T., Likens, G. E., Rodenhouse, N. L., Rogers, S. H., Templer, P. H., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., & Groffman, P. M. (2023). Early warning signals of changing resilience in the biogeochemistry and biology of a northern hardwood forest. Environmental Research Letters, 18(9), 094052. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acf3fe
Cleavitt, N. L., Montague, M. S., Battles, J. J., Box, O. F., Matthes, J. H., & Fahey, T. J. (2022). Enemy release from beech bark disease coincides with upslope shift of American beech. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 52(9), 1224–1233. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2022-0107
Fahey, T. J., Cleavitt, N. L., & Battles, J. J. (2022). Long term variation of leaf abundance in a northern hardwood forest. Ecological Indicators, 137, 108746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108746
Valipour, M., Johnson, C. E., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., Fahey, T. J., Fakhraei, H., & Driscoll, C. T. (2021). Response of biomass, hydrology and biogeochemistry to alternative approaches of cutting a northern forest: model comparisons. Biogeochemistry. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00862-z
Valipour, M., Johnson, C. E., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., Fahey, T. J., Fakhraei, H., & Driscoll, C. T. (2021). Simulation of the effects of forest harvesting under changing climate to inform long-term sustainable forest management using a biogeochemical model. Science of The Total Environment, 767, 144881. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144881
Levine, J., de Valpine, P., & Battles, J. (2021). Generalized additive models reveal among-stand variation in live tree biomass equations. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 51(4), 546–564. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2020-0219
Cowles, J., Templeton, L., Battles, J. J., Edmunds, P. J., Carpenter, R. C., Carpenter, S. R., Paul Nelson, M., Cleavitt, N. L., Fahey, T. J., Groffman, P. M., Sullivan, J. H., Neel, M. C., Hansen, G. J. A., Hobbie, S., Holbrook, S. J., Kazanski, C. E., Seabloom, E. W., Schmitt, R. J., Stanley, E. H., … Vander Zanden, J. M. (2021). Resilience: insights from the U.S. LongTerm Ecological Research Network. Ecosphere, 12(5), e03434. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3434
Cleavitt, N. L., Battles, J. J., Fahey, T. J., & Doorn, N. S. van. (2021). Disruption of the competitive balance between foundational tree species by interacting stressors in a temperate deciduous forest. Journal of Ecology, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13687
Battles, J. J., Cleavitt, N. L., Johnson, C. E., & Fahey, T. J. (2019). Reply to the comment by Bailey et al. on “Long-term decline of sugar maple following forest harvest, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire.” Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 49(7), 863–864. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2018-0503
Wason, J. W., Beier, C. M., Battles, J. J., & Dovciak, M. (2019). Acidic Deposition and Climate Warming as Drivers of Tree Growth in High-Elevation Spruce-Fir Forests of the Northeastern US. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00063
Valipour, M., Driscoll, C. T., Johnson, C. E., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., & Fahey, T. J. (2018). The application of an integrated biogeochemical model to simulate dynamics of vegetation, hydrology and nutrients in soil and streamwater following a whole-tree harvest of a northern hardwood forest. Science of The Total Environment, 645, 244–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.066
Battles, J. J., Cleavitt, N. L., Saah, D. S., Poling, B. T., & Fahey, T. J. (2017). Ecological impact of a microburst windstorm in a northern hardwood forest. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 47(12), 1695–1701. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2017-0206
Cleavitt, N. L., Battles, J. J., Johnson, C. E., & Fahey, T. J. (2017). Long-term decline of sugar maple following forest harvest, Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 48(1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2017-0233
Maguire, T. J., Templer, P. H., Battles, J. J., & Fulweiler, R. W. (2017). Winter climate change and fine root biogenic silica in sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum): Implications for silica in the Anthropocene. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 122(3), 2016JG003755. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JG003755
Clymans, W., Conley, D. J., Battles, J. J., Frings, P. J., Koppers, M. M., Likens, G. E., & Johnson, C. E. (2016). Silica uptake and release in live and decaying biomass in a northern hardwood forest. Ecology, 97(11), 3044–3057. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1542
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
Fahey, T. J., Templer, P. H., Anderson, B. T., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., Driscoll, C. T., Fusco, A. R., Green, M. B., Kassam, K.-A. S., Rodenhouse, N. L., Rustad, L., Schaberg, P. G., & Vadeboncoeur, M. A. (2015). The promise and peril of intensive-site-based ecological research: insights from the Hubbard Brook ecosystem study. Ecology, 96(4), 885–901. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1043.1
Falster, D. S., Duursma, R. A., Ishihara, M. I., Barneche, D. R., FitzJohn, R. G., Vårhammar, A., Aiba, M., Ando, M., Anten, N., Aspinwall, M. J., Baltzer, J. L., Baraloto, C., Battaglia, M., Battles, J. J., Bond-Lamberty, B., van Breugel, M., Camac, J., Claveau, Y., Coll, L., … York, R. A. (2015). BAAD: a Biomass And Allometry Database for woody plants: Ecological Archives E096-128. Ecology, 96(5), 1445–1445. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-1889.1
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
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
Green, M. B., Bailey, A. S., Bailey, S. W., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., Driscoll, C. T., Fahey, T. J., Lepine, L. C., Likens, G. E., Ollinger, S. V., & Schaberg, P. G. (2013). Reply to Smith and Shortle: Lacking evidence of hydraulic efficiency changes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(40), E3740–E3740. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1312130110
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
Green, M. B., Bailey, A. S., Bailey, S. W., Battles, J. J., Campbell, J. L., Driscoll, C. T., Fahey, T. J., Lepine, L. C., Likens, G. E., Ollinger, S. V., & Schaberg, P. G. (2013). Decreased water flowing from a forest amended with calcium silicate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 110(15), 5999–6003. http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/43311
Campbell, J. L., Bailey, A. S., Eagar, C., Green, M. B., & Battles, J. J. (2013). Vegetation treatments and hydrologic responses at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. In: Camp, A.E.; Irland, L.C.; Carroll, C.J.W., Eds. Long-Term Silvicultural & Ecological Studies: Results for Science and Nanagement. Volume 2. Yale University, Global Institute of Sustainable Forestry, Research Paper, 013, 1–9. http://www.treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/43548
van Doorn, N. S., Battles, J. J., Fahey, T. J., Siccama, T. G., & Schwarz, P. A. (2011). Links between biomass and tree demography in a northern hardwood forest: a decade of stability and change in Hubbard Brook Valley, New Hampshire. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 41(7), 1369–1379. https://doi.org/10.1139/x11-063
Cleavitt, N. L., Fahey, T. J., & Battles, J. J. (2011). Regeneration ecology of sugar maple (Acer saccharum): seedling survival in relation to nutrition, site factors, and damage by insects and pathogens. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 41(2), 235–244. https://doi.org/10.1139/x10-210
Yanai, R. D., Battles, J. J., Richardson, A. D., Blodgett, C. A., Wood, D. M., & Rastetter, E. B. (2010). Estimating Uncertainty in Ecosystem Budget Calculations. Ecosystems, 13(2), 239–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9315-8
Yanai, R. D., Battles, J. J., Richardson, A. D., Rastetter, E. B., Wood, D. M., & Blodgett, C. (2010). Estimating uncertainty in ecosystem budget calculations. Ecosystems, 13(2), 239–248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9315-8
Fahey, T. J., Woodbury, P. B., Battles, J. J., Goodale, C. L., S. Hamburg, S., Ollinger, S., & Woodall, C. W. (2009). Forest Carbon Storage: Ecology, Management and Policy. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, DOI: 10.1890/080169.
Rhoads, A. G., Hamburg, S., Fahey, T. J., Siccama, T. G., Hane, E. N., Battles, J., Cogbill, C., Randall, J., & Wilson, G. (2002). Effects of an intense ice storm on the structure of a northern hardwood forest. Can. J. For. Res., 32, 1763–1775.
Cramer, J., Fahey, T. J., & Battles, J. J. (2000). Patterns of leaf mass, area and nitrogen in young northern hardwood forests. Amer. Midl. Nat., 144, 253–264.
Battles, J. J., & Fahey, T. J. (2000). Gap dynamics following forest decline: A case study of red spruce forests. Ecol. Appl., 10(3), 760–774.
Fahey, T. J., Battles, J. J., & Wilson, G. F. (1998). Responses of early successional northern hardwood forests to changes in nutrient availability. Ecol. Monogr., 68(2), 183–212.
Battles, J. J., Fahey, T. J., & Harney, E. M. B. (1996). Spatial patterning in the canopy gap regime of a subalpine Abies-Picea forest. J. Veg. Sci., 6, 807–814.
Battles, J. J., & Fahey, T. J. (1996). Spruce decline as a disturbance event in the subalpine forest of the northeastern United States. Can. J. For. Res., 26, 408–421.
Battles, J. J., Dushoff, J., & Fahey, T. J. (1996). Line intersect sampling of forest gaps. Forest Science, 42, 131–138.
Battles, J. J., & Fahey, T. J. (1995). Canopy structure and the competition for light in a chronosequence of northern hardwood forests. Suppl. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 76(2), 16.
Battles, J. J., & Fahey, T. J. (1993). Spatial patterning in canopy gap regimes. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 74(2), 157.