Randy Kolka

I study the effect of land management (forest, agriculture and urban land uses) on the terrestrial and aquatic cycling of nutrients, carbon, heavy metals (notably mercury) and water.

Currently I'm working on numerous studies to assess nutrient, carbon and mercury pools and processes in variety of ecosystems. Nutrient work includes studies related to Forestry Best Management Practices in riparian and wetland systems and work aimed at understanding the influence of strategically placed perennial vegetation in agricultural watersheds. Nutrient work also includes the effect of stream restoration on nutrient cycling. My carbon work includes studies looking at landscape level carbon pools and emissions across number of ecosystems including peatlands, and a variety upland vegetation types. The ecosystem carbon work also extends into characterizing the pools of coarse woody debris in forested riparian areas and streams. My mercury work is focused on two main efforts, one to characterize the mercury cycle under increased sulfate deposition and a second to understand the influence of prescribed fire on mercury cycling.