Institution: Environmental Defense Fund
18 Tremont Street, Suite 850
Boston, MA 02108
Hubbard Brook Role: Investigator
Phone: (617) 406-1832
Email: Shamburg@edf.org
StevenHamburg

Research Interests

Steven P. Hamburg‘s research interests include forest dynamics, historical ecology, calcium biogeochemistry, disturbance ecology and climate change impacts. He is particularly interested in the role of human disturbance, multiple stresses and climate change on forest structure and function. He has established a long-term (23 year) old-field successional study on a site with similar edaphic and elevational characteristics to the experimental watersheds within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. He has pioneered the use of quantitative soil pits for monitoring long-term dynamics in soil nutrient and carbon pools. He has been active in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, most recently as lead author on the Special Report “Land use, Land-use Change and Forestry”. He has appeared before Congress and a wide variety of other forums, testifying on the impacts of climate change on forest structure and function. He co-chaired the first meeting of the East Asia and Pacific Region International LTER network, and currently serves as co-chair of the US Liason Group to the network.

Hubbard Brook Publications by this Author

Groffman, P. M., Rustad, L. E., Templer, P. H., Campbell, J. L., Christenson, L. M., Lany, N. K., Socci, A. M., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Schaberg, P. G., Wilson, G. F., Driscoll, C. T., Fahey, T. J., Fisk, M. C., Goodale, C. L., Green, M. B., Hamburg, S. P., Johnson, C. E., Mitchell, M. J., Morse, J. L., … Rodenhouse, N. L. (2012). Long-Term Integrated Studies Show Complex and Surprising Effects of Climate Change in the Northern Hardwood Forest. BioScience, 62(12), 1056–1066. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.12.7
Levine, C., Yanai, R., Vadeboncoeur, M., Hamburg, S., Melvin, A., Goodale, C., Rau, B., & Johnson, D. (2012). Assessing the suitability of using rotary coring for sampling in rocky soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2011.0425
Davis, S. C., Dietze, M., DeLucia, E., Field, C., Hamburg, S. P., Loarie, S., Parton, W., Potts, M., Ramage, B., Wang, D., Youngs, H., & Long, S. P. (2012). Harvesting Carbon from Eastern US Forests: Opportunities and Impacts of an Expanding Bioenergy Industry. Forests, 3(2), 370–397. https://doi.org/10.3390/f3020370
Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Hamburg, S. P., Cogbill, C. V., & Sugimura, W. Y. (2012). A comparison of presettlement and modern forest composition along an elevation gradient in central New Hampshire.(Report). Canadian Journal of Forest Research. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-277781696.html
Raciti, S. M., Fahey, T. J., Thomas, R. Q., Woodbury, P. B., Driscoll, C. T., Carranti, F. J., Foster, D. R., Gwyther, P. S., Hall, B. R., Hamburg, S. P., Jenkins, J. C., Neill, C., Peery, B. W., Quigley, E. E., Sherman, R., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Weinstein, D. A., & Wilson, G. (2012). Local-Scale Carbon Budgets and Mitigation Opportunities for the Northeastern United States. Bioscience, 62(1), 23–38. https://doi.org/10.1525/bio.2012.62.1.7
Blum, J. D., Hamburg, S. P., Yanai, R. D., & Arthur, M. A. (2012). Determination of foliar Ca/Sr discrimination factors for six tree species and implications for Ca sources in northern hardwood forests. Plant and Soil, 356, 303–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-011-1122-2
Hamburg, S. P., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Richardson, A. D., & Bailey, A. S. (2012). Climate change at the ecosystem scale: A 50-year record in New Hampshire. Climatic Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-012-0517-2
Fatemi, F. R., Yanai, R. D., Hamburg, S. P., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Arthur, M. A., Briggs, R. D., & Levine, C. R. (2011). Allometric equations for young northern hardwoods: the importance of age-specific equations for estimating aboveground biomass. Canadian Journal of Forest Research-Revue Canadienne De Recherche Forestiere, 41(4), 881–891. https://doi.org/10.1139/x10-248
Fahey, T. J., Carranti, F. J., Driscoll, C. T., Foster, D. R., P. S. Gwyther, Hall, B., Hamburg, Steven. P., Jenkins, Julian C., Neill, C., Ollinger, Scott V., Peery, V., Quigley, Erin, Raciti, S., Sherman, R., Thomas, R., Vadeboncoeur, Matthew A., Weinstein, D., Wilson, Geoffrey F., Woodbury, P., & Yandik, W. (2011). Carbon_and_Communities_2011.pdf (HBR.2011-51). Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. https://www.hubbardbrook.org/sites/default/files/pictures/HBRF/ScienceLinks/Carbon_and_Communities_2011.pdf
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
Meyer, J. D., Frumhoff, P. C., Hamburg, S. P., & Rosa, C. de la. (2010). Above the Din but in the fray: environmental scientists as effective advocates. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 8, 298–304.
Weeks, B. C., Hamburg, S. P., & Vadeboncoeur, M. A. (2009). Ice storm effects on the canopy structure of a northern hardwood forest after 8 years. Can. J. For. Res., 39(8), 1475–1483. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1139/X09-076
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.
Ratliff, T. J., Fisk, M. C., Yanai, R. D., Rastetter, E. B., Naples, B. K., Fahey, T. J., Fatemi, F., & Hamburg, S. P. (2009). Can phosphorus limit productivity in northern hardwood forests? (Poster and Abstract) (HBR.2009-48). 94th Ecological Society of America Meeting (ESA), Albuquerque, N.M.
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.
Vadeboncoeur, M. A., Hamburg, S. P., & Yanai, R. D. (2007). Validation and Refinement of Allometric Equations for Roots of Northern Hardwoods. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 37, 1777–1783.
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.
Park, B. B., Yanai, R. D., Vadeboncoeur, M. A., & Hamburg, S. P. (2007). Estimating root biomass in rocky soils using pits, cores and allometric equations. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 71, 206–213.
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.
Rhoads, A. G., Hamburg, S. P., Fahey, T. J., Siccama, T. G., & Kobe, R. (2004). Comparing direct and indirect methods of assessing canopy structure in a northern hardwood forest. Can. J. For. Res., 34(3), 584–591.
Hane, E. N., Hamburg, S. P., Barber, A. L., & Plaut, J. A. (2003). Phytotoxicity of American beech leaf leachate to sugar maple seedlings in a greenhouse experiement. Can. J. For. Res., 33, 814–821.
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.
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.
Nielson, C. B., Groffman, P. M., Hamburg, S. P., Driscoll, C. T., Fahey, T. J., & Hardy, J. P. (2001). Freezing effects on carbon and nitrogen cycling in northern hardwood forest soils. Soil Science Soc. Amer. J., 65(6), 1723–1730.
Auther, M. A., Hamburg, S. P., & Siccama, T. G. (2001). Validating allometric estimates of aboveground living biomass and nutrient contents of a northern hardwood forest. Can. J. For. Res., 31, 11–17.
Siccama, T. G., Hamburg, S. P., Arthur, M. A., Yanai, R. D., Bormann, F. H., & Likens, G. E. (1994). Corrections to allometric equations and plant tissue chemistry for Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Ecology, 75(1), 246–248.
Bormann, B. T., Bormann, F. H., Bowden, W. B., Pierce, R. S., Hamburg, S. P., Wang, D., Snyder, M. C., Li, C. Y., & Ingersoll, R. C. (1993). Rapid N2 fixation in pines, alder and locust: evidence from the sandbox ecosystem study. Ecology, 74(2), 583–598.
Herkelrath, W. N., Hamburg, S. P., & Murphy, F. (1991). Automatic, real-time monitoring of soil moisture in a remote field area with time domain reflectometry. Water Resour. Res., 27, 857–864.
Huntington, T. G., Ryan, D. F., & Hamburg, S. P. (1988). Estimating soil nitrogen and carbon pools in a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 52, 1162–1167.
Hamburg, S. P., & Cogbill, C. V. (1988). Historical decline of red spruce populations and climatic warming. Nature, 331(6155), 428–431.
Hamburg, S. P., Wang, D., & Herkelrath, W. N. (1987). Real-time quantitative monitoring of soil moisture and its implications for investigating nutrient cycles. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 68(3), 318.
Strayer, D., Pletscher, D. H., Hamburg, S. P., & Nodvin, S. C. (1986). The effects of forest disturbance on land gastropod communities in northern New England. Can. J. Zool., 64, 2094–2098.
Thorne, J. F., & Hamburg, S. P. (1985). Nitrification potentials of an old-field chronosequence in Campton, New Hampshire. Ecology, 66(4), 1333–1338.
Hamburg, S. P. (1985). Long-term population decline of red spruce in the spruce-hardwood forests of central New Hampshire. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 66(2), 186.
Hamburg, S. P. (1984). Organic matter and nitrogen accumulation during 70 years of old-field succession in central New Hampshire (HBR.84-65) [PhD Thesis]. Yale University.
Thorne, J. F., & Hamburg, S. P. (1982). Changes in nitrification potential during old field succession. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 63(2), 135.
Hamburg, S. P. (1982). Changes in nutrient distribution over 70 years of old succession. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 63(2), 135.
Hamburg, S. P. (1981). Forest nutrient and organic matter accumulation during 70 years of old field succession in central New Hampshire. Bull. Ecol. Soc. Amer., 62(2), 132.