Curtis J. Richardson
- Office Location: A219a Lev Sci Res Ctr
- Office Phone: (919) 613-8006, (919) 613-8009
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Email Address:
Research Area(s): wetland ecology
biogeochemistry
ecology
environmental chemistry
soil science
water quality
Curtis J. Richardson is Professor of Resource Ecology and founding Director of the Duke University Wetland Center in the Nicholas School of the Environment. Dr. Richardson earned his degrees from the State University of New York and the University of Tennessee. His research interests are in the area of applied ecology and are centered on wetlands ecology and restoration. The objectives of his research are to utilize ecological principles to develop new approaches to environmental problem solving. The goal of his research is to provide predictive models and approaches to aid in the management of ecosystems. His research has focused on long-term ecosystem responses to large-scale perturbations such as nutrient additions, hydrologic alterations and trace metal effects in such areas as the Everglades and the marshes of Iraq. More recently he and his graduate students have focused on the development of indicators of ecological thresholds. His specific area of research is biogeochemistry with a focus interest in phosphorus nutrient dynamics in ecosystems. Major research efforts have focused on wetlands as nutrient sinks and transformers. Currently funded NSF research is testing the concept of differential nutrient limitation (DNL) as a mechanism to overcome N or P limitations across trophic levels. Other funded research activities in his lab include: 1) The effects of climate change on invasive species in wetlands, 2) restoration of wetland plant communities and the effects of diversity on regional water quality and nutrient biogeochemical cycles, 3) development of ecosystem metrics as indices of wetland restoration success, 4) the development of ecological thresholds along environmental gradients, 5) effects and cycling of nanomaterials in wetland ecosystems, and 6) the development of an outdoor wetland research and teaching laboratory on Duke Campus. He oversees the main analytical lab in NSOE, which is open to students and faculty. Dr. Richardson has been listed in Who's™ Who in Science annually since 1989 and was elected President of the Society of Wetland Scientists in 1987-88. He has served on many editorial review committees for peer-reviewed scientific journals, and he is a past Chair of the Nicholas School Division of Environmental Sciences and Policy. Dr. Richardson is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Wetland Scientists, and the Soil Science Society of America.
TEACHING (Fall 2009)
ENVIRON 312.01, WETLANDS ECOLOGY/MGMNT,TEACHING (Spring 2010)
ENVIRON 309.01, WETLAND RESTORATION ECOLOGY,Representative Publications (More Publications)
- Melek Kazezyılmaz-Alhan,C. M. A. Medina, C. J. Richardson, A Wetland Hydrology and Water Quality Model Incorporating Surface/Ground Water Interactions, Water Resources, (Submitted, 2007)
- Richardson, C.J. and N. A. Hussain, Restoring the Garden of Eden: An Ecological Assessment of the Marshes of Iraq, BioScience, vol. 56 (2006), ppt. 477-489
- J. Vymazal & C.J. Richardson, The relationship between soil, water nutrients and biomass of Cladium jamaicense and Typha latifolia in the northern Everglades, , (2003)
- Bruland, G.L., and C.J. Richardson, An assessment of the phosphorus retention capacity of wetlands in the Painter Creek Watershed, Minnesota USA, Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 171 (2006), ppt. 169-184
- C.J. Richardson & K. Nunnery, Ecological functional assessment (EFA): A new approach to determining wetland health, , (2001), ppt. 95-112
- Bruland, G.L., and C.J. Richardson, Comparison of soil organic matter in created, retored and paired natural wetlands in North Carolina, Wetlands Ecology and Management, vol. 14 (2006), ppt. 245-251
- C.J. Richardson & J. Vymazal, Sampling macrophytes in wetlands (Chapter 14), , (2001), ppt. 297-338
- C.J. Richardson, Highway construction and mitigation: On the road to increasing wetland function?, National Wetlands Newsletter, vol. 27 no. 5 (2005), ppt. 17-20
- C.J. Richardson, Freshwater Wetlands (Chapter 12), , (2000), ppt. 448-499
- C.J. Richardson, P. Reiss, N.A. Hussain, A.J. Alwash & D.J. Pool, The restoration potential of the Mesopotamian marshes of Iraq, Science, vol. 307 (2005), ppt. 1307-1311
- P. Benzing & C.J. Richardson, CaCO3 Causes Underestimation of NaOH Extractable Phosphorus in Sequential Fractionations, Soil Science, vol. 170 no. 10 (2005), ppt. 802-809
- L.L. Bourgeau-Chavez, K.B. Smith, S.M. Brunzell, E.S. Kasischke, E.A. Romanowicz & C.J. Richardson, Remote monitoring of regional inundation patterns and hydroperiod in the greater Everglades using synthetic aperture radar, Wetlands, vol. 25 no. 1 (2005), ppt. 176-191
- G.L. Bruland & C.J. Richardson, Hydrologic, edaphic, and vegetative responses to Microtopographic reestablishment in a restored wetland, Restoration Ecology, vol. 13 no. 3 (2005), ppt. 1-9
- G.L. Bruland & C.J. Richardson, Spatial variability of soil properties in created, restored, and paired natural wetlands, Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 69 (2005), ppt. 273-284
- G.L. Bruland & C.J. Richardson, Hydrologic gradients and topsoil additions affect soil properties of Virginia created wetlands, Soil Science Society of America Journal, vol. 68 (2004), ppt. 2069-2077
- G.L. Bruland & C.J. Richardson, A Spatially Explicit Investigation of Phosphorus Sorption and Related Soil Properties in Two Riparian Wetlands, Journal of Environmental Quality, vol. 33 (2004), ppt. 785-794
- R.S. King, C.J. Richardson, D.L. Urban & E.A. Romanowicz, Spatial dependency of vegetation–Environment Linkages in an anthropogenically influenced wetland ecosystem, Ecosystems, vol. 7 (2004), ppt. 75-97
- S.D. Bridgham & C.J. Richardson, Endogenous versus exogenous nutrient control over decomposition and mineralization in North Carolina peatlands, Biogeochemistry, vol. 65 (2003), ppt. 151-178
- G.L. Bruland & M.F. Hanchey & C.J. Richardson, Effects of agriculture and wetland restoration on hydrology, soils, and water quality of a Carolina bay complex, Wetlands Ecology and Management, vol. 11 (2003), ppt. 141-156
- E.S. Kasischke, K. B. Smith, L.L. Bourgeau-Chavez, E.A. Romanowicz, S. Brunzell & C.J. Richardson, Effects of seasonal hydrologic patterns in south Florida wetlands on radar backscatter measured from ERS-2 SAR imagery, Remote Sensing of Environment, vol. 88 (2003), ppt. 423-441
Education:
- PhD Ecology, University of Tennessee, 1972
- BS Biology, State University of New York, 1966
Research Interests:
- Dr. Richardson's research interests are in the area of applied ecology and are centered on wetlands ecology and restoration. The objectives of his research are to utilize ecological principles to develop new approaches to environmental problem solving. The goal of his research is to provide predictive models and approaches to aid in the management of ecosystems. His research has focused on long-term ecosystem responses to large-scale perturbations such as nutrient additions, hydrologic alterations and trace metal effects in such areas as the Everglades and the marshes of Iraq. More recently he and his graduate students have focused on the development of indicators of ecological thresholds. His specific area of research is biogeochemistry with a focus interest in phosphorus nutrient dynamics in ecosystems. Major research efforts have focused on wetlands as nutrient sinks and transformers. Currently funded NSF research is testing the concept of differential nutrient limitation (DNL) as a mechanism to overcome N or P limitations across trophic levels in ecosystems. Other funded research activities in his lab include: 1) The effects of climate change on invasive species in wetlands, 2) restoration of wetland plant communities and the effects of diversity on regional water quality and nutrient biogeochemical cycles, 3) development of ecosystem metrics as indices of wetland restoration success, 4) the development of ecological thresholds along environmental gradients, 5) effects and cycling of nanomaterials in wetland ecosystems, and 6) the development of an outdoor wetland research and teaching laboratory on Duke Campus.
