Lab News
January 2021: Excited to announce that our new publication will be out soon!
Mathias, J.M. and R.B. Thomas. Global tree intrinsic water use efficiency is enhanced by increased atmospheric CO2 and modulated by climate and plant functional types. In press at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
December 2020: Congrats to Whitney Johnson for defending her undergrad Honor's thesis: Physiological differences in red spruce trees (Picea rubens) across an elevational transect: intrinsic water use efficiency and growth.
May 2020: Congrats to Keanan Allen on his graduation and thanks, Keanan, for your work in our lab! Keanan will soon be joining Yiqi Luo's lab at Northern Arizona University to work on his PhD.
April 2020: Justin Mathias successfully defends his thesis. He will be joining Dr. Anna Trugman's lab at UC Santa Barbara.
August 2019: Congratulations to Justin Mathias for being awarded the W.D and S.M Billings Award for the graduate student whose oral presentation at the ESA Annual Meeting represents a significant advancement in physiological ecology.
August 2019: Mathias, J.M. K.R. Smith, and R.B. Thomas. Contrasting trends in growth and intrinsic water use efficiency of four eastern U.S. tree species. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. Louisville, KY. Abstract
April 2019: Justin presents at the European Geosciences Union 2019 General Assembly in Vienna, Austria.
Using a Multiproxy Tree Ring Approach to Examine the Effects of Environmental Change on Eastern U.S. Forests
April 2019: A great article highlighting red spruce forests in WV, including research in the Thomas lab in E&E News.
April 2019: A great news article on our presentation at WVU’s Academic Media Day in The Intelligencer/Wheeling News Register.
January 2019: Congratulations to Justin for being the recipient of EGU's Roland Schlich Early Career Scientist's Travel support and a travel award from the journal, Plants, to help defray costs for him to present at the 2019 General Assembly of the European Geophysical Union this April 7-12, in Vienna, Austria.
December 2018 AGU
Mathias, J.M. and R.B. Thomas. 2018. Using a multiproxy tree ring approach to examine the effects of environmental change on eastern U.S. forests. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Washington D.C.
Congrats to Justin for receiving the Elizabeth Sulzman Outstanding Publication Award at #ESA2018 from @ESAbiogeosci recognizing work conducted while a grad student! He was recognized for his @GlobalChangeBio pub “Disentangling the effects of acidic air pollution, atmospheric CO2, and climate change on recent growth of red spruce trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains”.
August 2018: Justin presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in New Orleans, LA.
Using multiple proxies of ecosystem function to assess long-term growth and physiology of two deciduous tree species in the Fernow Experimental Forest, WV eco.confex.com/eco/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/80235
May 2018: Congrats to Afsoon Sabet for graduating and thanks, Keanan, for working so diligently in lab! Afsoon will going to Mississippi State to work on her MS degree.
Mathias, J.M. and R.B. Thomas. Global tree intrinsic water use efficiency is enhanced by increased atmospheric CO2 and modulated by climate and plant functional types. In press at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
December 2020: Congrats to Whitney Johnson for defending her undergrad Honor's thesis: Physiological differences in red spruce trees (Picea rubens) across an elevational transect: intrinsic water use efficiency and growth.
May 2020: Congrats to Keanan Allen on his graduation and thanks, Keanan, for your work in our lab! Keanan will soon be joining Yiqi Luo's lab at Northern Arizona University to work on his PhD.
April 2020: Justin Mathias successfully defends his thesis. He will be joining Dr. Anna Trugman's lab at UC Santa Barbara.
August 2019: Congratulations to Justin Mathias for being awarded the W.D and S.M Billings Award for the graduate student whose oral presentation at the ESA Annual Meeting represents a significant advancement in physiological ecology.
August 2019: Mathias, J.M. K.R. Smith, and R.B. Thomas. Contrasting trends in growth and intrinsic water use efficiency of four eastern U.S. tree species. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting. Louisville, KY. Abstract
April 2019: Justin presents at the European Geosciences Union 2019 General Assembly in Vienna, Austria.
Using a Multiproxy Tree Ring Approach to Examine the Effects of Environmental Change on Eastern U.S. Forests
April 2019: A great article highlighting red spruce forests in WV, including research in the Thomas lab in E&E News.
April 2019: A great news article on our presentation at WVU’s Academic Media Day in The Intelligencer/Wheeling News Register.
January 2019: Congratulations to Justin for being the recipient of EGU's Roland Schlich Early Career Scientist's Travel support and a travel award from the journal, Plants, to help defray costs for him to present at the 2019 General Assembly of the European Geophysical Union this April 7-12, in Vienna, Austria.
December 2018 AGU
Mathias, J.M. and R.B. Thomas. 2018. Using a multiproxy tree ring approach to examine the effects of environmental change on eastern U.S. forests. American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting. Washington D.C.
Congrats to Justin for receiving the Elizabeth Sulzman Outstanding Publication Award at #ESA2018 from @ESAbiogeosci recognizing work conducted while a grad student! He was recognized for his @GlobalChangeBio pub “Disentangling the effects of acidic air pollution, atmospheric CO2, and climate change on recent growth of red spruce trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains”.
August 2018: Justin presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in New Orleans, LA.
Using multiple proxies of ecosystem function to assess long-term growth and physiology of two deciduous tree species in the Fernow Experimental Forest, WV eco.confex.com/eco/2019/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/80235
May 2018: Congrats to Afsoon Sabet for graduating and thanks, Keanan, for working so diligently in lab! Afsoon will going to Mississippi State to work on her MS degree.

April 2018: New publication (open access):
Mathias, Justin M. and Richard B. Thomas. 2018. Disentangling the effects of acidic air pollution, atmospheric CO2, and climate change on recent growth of red spruce trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains. Global Change Biology DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14273.
News Release from WVU
National Science Foundation News from the Field
NSF Tumblr Blog
WVNews
Beckley Register-Herald
February, 2018: Dynamics of Forest Growth and Resource Use Symposium. Charlottesville, VA.
Richard: Tracing historical stomatal conductance using stable isotopes.
Justin: Using a multi-proxy approach to explore recent growth increases in red spruce trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains.
November 2017: Disentangling the complexity behind red spruce forest ecosystem recovery from acid deposition. At: High Elevation Forest Restoration Workshop and CASRI/SASRI Meeting. Gatlinburg, TN.
August 2017: Justin presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Portland, OR.
Abstract
July 2017: Congratulations to Justin for receiving a grant from the Smithsonian Center for Tropical Forest Science - Forest Global Earth Observatory Research Grants Program!
December 2016: Kenny Smith begins his postdoctoral position in Bonnie Waring's lab at Utah State. Congratulations and good luck!
Fall 2016: Tracing Ecosystem Processes with Stable Isotopes. At:WVU Institute for Water Security and Science,
2016: Widespread forest recovery across the central Appalachian Mountains (U.S.) following reductions in pollutant emissions. At: Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
2016: Widespread forest recovery across the central Appalachian Mountains (U.S.) following reductions in pollutant emissions”. Seminar presented: Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative, Elkins, WV.
April 2017: Kristen Lantz presents at the WVU 1st Annual Undergraduate Spring Symposium.
June 2016: New publication
Smith, K.R., J.M, Mathias, B.E. McNeil, W.T. Peterjohn, and R.B. Thomas. 2016. Site-level importance of broadleaf deciduous trees outweighs the legacy of high N deposition on ecosystem N status of Central Appalachian red spruce forests. Plant and Soil 8: 343–356.
April 2016: Congrats to Kenny Smith for defending his PhD thesis defense!
April 2016: Congrats to Ben Russell for defending his undergrad thesis defense!
October 19-23 Rochester, NY
Acid Rain 2015 International Conference
September 2015 Trip to Beijing, China
Workshop on Forest Ecosystem Services for Biodiversity and the Bioeconomy
August 2015: Justin Mathias presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Baltimore, MD.
PLOS Blogs covers Justin’s ESA presentation
#ESA100 Research News: Increase in red spruce growth tied to the Clean Air Act
Justin’s abstract
June 2015: Lab trip to Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
May 2015: Congrats to Justin Mathias for passing his prelims!
August 2014: Kenny Smith presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Sacramento, CA.
Kenny’s abstract
May 2014: New NSF Ecosystem Studies funding! DEB #1354689
Using dendroisotopes in North America and Asia to examine how temperate forests respond to changes in acid deposition.
January 2014: Congratulations to our grad student, Kenny Smith, for receiving a WVU Foundation Distinguished Doctoral Scholarship
Our PNAS paper has been selected for Faculty of 1000!
Mathias, Justin M. and Richard B. Thomas. 2018. Disentangling the effects of acidic air pollution, atmospheric CO2, and climate change on recent growth of red spruce trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains. Global Change Biology DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14273.
News Release from WVU
National Science Foundation News from the Field
NSF Tumblr Blog
WVNews
Beckley Register-Herald
February, 2018: Dynamics of Forest Growth and Resource Use Symposium. Charlottesville, VA.
Richard: Tracing historical stomatal conductance using stable isotopes.
Justin: Using a multi-proxy approach to explore recent growth increases in red spruce trees in the Central Appalachian Mountains.
November 2017: Disentangling the complexity behind red spruce forest ecosystem recovery from acid deposition. At: High Elevation Forest Restoration Workshop and CASRI/SASRI Meeting. Gatlinburg, TN.
August 2017: Justin presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Portland, OR.
Abstract
July 2017: Congratulations to Justin for receiving a grant from the Smithsonian Center for Tropical Forest Science - Forest Global Earth Observatory Research Grants Program!
December 2016: Kenny Smith begins his postdoctoral position in Bonnie Waring's lab at Utah State. Congratulations and good luck!
Fall 2016: Tracing Ecosystem Processes with Stable Isotopes. At:WVU Institute for Water Security and Science,
2016: Widespread forest recovery across the central Appalachian Mountains (U.S.) following reductions in pollutant emissions. At: Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA.
2016: Widespread forest recovery across the central Appalachian Mountains (U.S.) following reductions in pollutant emissions”. Seminar presented: Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative, Elkins, WV.
April 2017: Kristen Lantz presents at the WVU 1st Annual Undergraduate Spring Symposium.
June 2016: New publication
Smith, K.R., J.M, Mathias, B.E. McNeil, W.T. Peterjohn, and R.B. Thomas. 2016. Site-level importance of broadleaf deciduous trees outweighs the legacy of high N deposition on ecosystem N status of Central Appalachian red spruce forests. Plant and Soil 8: 343–356.
April 2016: Congrats to Kenny Smith for defending his PhD thesis defense!
April 2016: Congrats to Ben Russell for defending his undergrad thesis defense!
October 19-23 Rochester, NY
Acid Rain 2015 International Conference
September 2015 Trip to Beijing, China
Workshop on Forest Ecosystem Services for Biodiversity and the Bioeconomy
August 2015: Justin Mathias presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Baltimore, MD.
PLOS Blogs covers Justin’s ESA presentation
#ESA100 Research News: Increase in red spruce growth tied to the Clean Air Act
Justin’s abstract
June 2015: Lab trip to Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
May 2015: Congrats to Justin Mathias for passing his prelims!
August 2014: Kenny Smith presents at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Sacramento, CA.
Kenny’s abstract
May 2014: New NSF Ecosystem Studies funding! DEB #1354689
Using dendroisotopes in North America and Asia to examine how temperate forests respond to changes in acid deposition.
January 2014: Congratulations to our grad student, Kenny Smith, for receiving a WVU Foundation Distinguished Doctoral Scholarship
Our PNAS paper has been selected for Faculty of 1000!
New publication (open access):
Thomas, R.B., S.E. Spal, K.R. Smith, and J.B. Nippert. Evidence of recovery of Juniperus virginianatrees from sulfur pollution after the Clean Air Act. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science. link to article
News release from WVU
Scientific American
Ars Technica
Conservation Magazine
NBC News
National Geographic Magazine
September 19-30, 2013: Trip to Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
August 2013: Kenny Smith and Justin Mathias present at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN.
Kenny’s abstract
Justin’s abstract
July 2013: Congratulations to our REU student, Danny Walton, for winning the award for best poster in the Agricultural & Environmental Science category at the WVU Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium!
May 2013: Congratulations to our new grad student, Justin Mathais, for receiving a Ruby Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship!
Thomas, R.B., S.E. Spal, K.R. Smith, and J.B. Nippert. Evidence of recovery of Juniperus virginianatrees from sulfur pollution after the Clean Air Act. Proceeding of the National Academy of Science. link to article
News release from WVU
Scientific American
Ars Technica
Conservation Magazine
NBC News
National Geographic Magazine
September 19-30, 2013: Trip to Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China
August 2013: Kenny Smith and Justin Mathias present at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting in Minneapolis, MN.
Kenny’s abstract
Justin’s abstract
July 2013: Congratulations to our REU student, Danny Walton, for winning the award for best poster in the Agricultural & Environmental Science category at the WVU Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium!
May 2013: Congratulations to our new grad student, Justin Mathais, for receiving a Ruby Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship!