Erica Smithwick

Director of the Ecology Institute; Professor of Geography

Erica Smithwick

Research Summary

Uunderstanding how a wide range of disturbances, especially fire, affect ecosystem function at landscape scales.

Huck Affiliations

Publication Tags

Nitrogen Soil Climate Basalt Water Herbivores Carbon Turnover Deer Rate Herbivore Soil Moisture Resilience Soils Fine Root Forage Plain National Park Phenology Fires National Parks Grazing Rhizosphere Biomass Forests

Most Recent Papers

Robust paths to net greenhouse gas mitigation and negative emissions via advanced biofuels

John L. Field, Tom L. Richard, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Hao Cai, Mark S. Laser, David S. LeBauer, Stephen P. Long, Keith Paustian, Zhangcai Qin, John J. Sheehan, Pete Smith, Michael Q. Wang, Lee R. Lynd, 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 21968-21977

Seed source pattern and terrain have scale-dependent effects on post-fire tree recovery

Jamie L. Peeler, Erica A.H. Smithwick, 2020, Landscape Ecology on p. 1945-1959

Patch-scale selection patterns of grazing herbivores in the central basalt plains of Kruger National Park

Cyanne Young, Hervé Fritz, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Jan A. Venter, 2020, African Journal of Range and Forage Science on p. 199-213

The landscape-scale drivers of herbivore assemblage distribution on the central basalt plains of Kruger National Park

Cyanne Young, Hervé Fritz, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Jan A. Venter, 2020, Journal of Tropical Ecology on p. 13-28

Complex interactions among successional trajectories and climate govern spatial resilience after severe windstorms in central Wisconsin, USA

Melissa S. Lucash, Kelsey L. Ruckert, Robert E. Nicholas, Robert M. Scheller, Erica A.H. Smithwick, 2019, Landscape Ecology on p. 2897-2915

Carbon stocks and biodiversity of coastal lowland forests in South Africa

Erica A H. Smithwick, 2019, Carbon Management on p. 349-360

The value of linking paleoecological and neoecological perspectives to understand spatially-explicit ecosystem resilience

B. Buma, B. J. Harvey, D. G. Gavin, R. Kelly, T. Loboda, B. E. McNeil, J. R. Marlon, A. J.H. Meddens, J. L. Morris, K. F. Raffa, B. Shuman, Erica A H. Smithwick, K. K. McLauchlan, 2019, Landscape Ecology on p. 17-33

Estimating root zone soil moisture across the Eastern United States with passive microwave satellite data and a simple hydrologic model

Douglas Baldwin, Salvatore Manfreda, Henry Lin, Erica A.H. Smithwick, 2019, Remote Sensing

Forest pattern, not just amount, influences dietary quality in five African countries

Laura Vang Rasmussen, Matthew E. Fagan, Amy Ickowitz, Sylvia L.R. Wood, Gina Kennedy, Bronwen Powell, Frédéric Baudron, Sarah Gergel, Suhyun Jung, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Terry Sunderland, Stephen Wood, Jeanine M. Rhemtulla, 2019, Global Food Security

Fine-scale spatial homogenization of microbial habitats

Jessica B. Moon, Denice H. Wardrop, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Kusum J. Naithani, 2019, Ecological Applications on p. e01816

Most-Cited Papers

Continued warming could transform greater yellowstone fire regimes by mid-21st century

Anthony L. Westerling, Monica G. Turner, Erica A.H. Smithwick, William H. Romme, Michael G. Ryan, 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 13165-13170

Predicting fine root lifespan from plant functional traits in temperate trees

M. Luke Mccormack, Thomas Adams, Erica A H. Smithwick, David Eissenstat, 2012, New Phytologist on p. 823-831

Variability in root production, phenology, and turnover rate among 12 temperate tree species

M. Luke McCormack, Thomas S. Adams, Erica A.H. Smithwick, David M. Eissenstat, 2014, Ecology on p. 2224-2235

Regional scale patterns of fine root lifespan and turnover under current and future climate

M. Luke McCormack, David M. Eissenstat, Anantha M. Prasad, Erica A.H. Smithwick, 2013, Global Change Biology on p. 1697-1708

Deer feeding selectivity for invasive plants

Kristine M. Averill, David A. Mortensen, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Eric Post, 2016, Biological Invasions on p. 1247-1263

Predicting root zone soil moisture with soil properties and satellite near-surface moisture data across the conterminous United States

D. Baldwin, S. Manfreda, K. Keller, E. A.H. Smithwick, 2017, Journal of Hydrology on p. 393-404

Variation in Aboveground Cover Influences Soil Nitrogen Availability at Fine Spatial Scales Following Severe Fire in Subalpine Conifer Forests

Monica G. Turner, William H. Romme, Erica A H. Smithwick, Daniel B. Tinker, Jun Zhu, 2011, Ecosystems on p. 1081-1095

Post-Fire Spatial Patterns of Soil Nitrogen Mineralization and Microbial Abundance

Erica A.H. Smithwick, Kusum J. Naithani, Teri C. Balser, William H. Romme, Monica G. Turner, 2012, PLoS One on p. e50597

Sensitivity of four ecological models to adjustments in fine root turnover rate

M. Luke McCormack, Elizabeth Crisfield, Brett Raczka, Frank Schnekenburger, David M. Eissenstat, Erica A.H. Smithwick, 2015, Ecological Modelling on p. 107-117

A regional assessment of white-tailed deer effects on plant invasion

Kristine M. Averill, David Mortensen, Erica A H. Smithwick, Susan Kalisz, William J. McShea, Norman A. Bourg, John D. Parker, Alejandro A. Royo, Marc David Abrams, David K. Apsley, Bernd Blossey, Douglas H. Boucher, Kai L. Caraher, Antonio DiTommaso, Sarah E. Johnson, Robert Masson, Victoria A. Nuzzo, 2018, AoB PLANTS

News Articles Featuring Erica Smithwick

Aug 25, 2020

Advanced biofuels show promise for replacing some fossil fuels

Plant-based biofuels can play a key role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and removing excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and growing these crops in certain landscapes offers net climate benefits compared to other land use options, according to a team of international scientists.

Full Article

Jul 15, 2020

Ecology Institute announces grant recipients

The Ecology Institute has awarded 11 proposals from across the University as part of its Flower Grant program, including five projects submitted by faculty at Commonwealth Campuses.

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Jun 05, 2020

The Penn State Ecology Community is Committed to Combatting Racism and Injustice

The leadership of the Penn State Ecology community wishes to express solidarity with marginalized members of our society, and has prepared the following statement of support to all those who struggle against systemic injustices. We can and must do better.

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Apr 01, 2020

Proposals being accepted for ecology research funding

The Ecology Institute announced a call for proposals for its Flower Grant program. The funds aim to support ecology research focused across the institute’s five core themes: resilience and adaptation; provision of ecosystem goods and services; ecology at the interface; rapid evolutionary change; and ecological foundations.

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Jun 19, 2019

South African forests show pathways to a sustainable future

Native forests make up one percent of the landscape in South Africa but could play a key role in reducing atmospheric carbon and identifying sustainable development practices that can be used globally to counter climate change, according to a Penn State researcher.

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