Jessica Miesel, PhD
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Michigan State University
1066 Bogue St., Room A286
East Lansing, MI
Office location: PSSB A560 / Lab location: PSSB A590
Office phone: 517-353-0485
Email: mieselje@msu.edu
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences
Michigan State University
1066 Bogue St., Room A286
East Lansing, MI
Office location: PSSB A560 / Lab location: PSSB A590
Office phone: 517-353-0485
Email: mieselje@msu.edu
Curriculum vitae
Research Gate
I am an ecosystem ecologist broadly interested in fire ecology and management in temperate forests and grasslands. My research focuses on fire and management effects on nutrient pools and fluxes in coniferous forest soils, comparative effects among fire and fire surrogate ecosystem management strategies, and the biogeochemical role of natural and anthropogenic black carbon in soil ecosystem processes. I have experience in wildland fire suppression, fuels reduction and prescribed fire operations, and fire effects monitoring and research. Although my current research focuses on forested ecosystems, I am intrigued by the ecology of many types of fire-adapted ecosystems. My previous work in reconstructed grasslands addressed alternative weed management treatments for best establishment of native grasses and forbs, including effects on plant species composition, biomass, and carbon and nitrogen cycling. I believe that understanding ecological processes is essential for appropriately designing sustainable human communities and land-use practices. My work as an ecologist contributes to these goals. I am also interested in the role of ecology in society, and in identifying ways that ecologists can contribute to social and environmental justice.
Research Gate
I am an ecosystem ecologist broadly interested in fire ecology and management in temperate forests and grasslands. My research focuses on fire and management effects on nutrient pools and fluxes in coniferous forest soils, comparative effects among fire and fire surrogate ecosystem management strategies, and the biogeochemical role of natural and anthropogenic black carbon in soil ecosystem processes. I have experience in wildland fire suppression, fuels reduction and prescribed fire operations, and fire effects monitoring and research. Although my current research focuses on forested ecosystems, I am intrigued by the ecology of many types of fire-adapted ecosystems. My previous work in reconstructed grasslands addressed alternative weed management treatments for best establishment of native grasses and forbs, including effects on plant species composition, biomass, and carbon and nitrogen cycling. I believe that understanding ecological processes is essential for appropriately designing sustainable human communities and land-use practices. My work as an ecologist contributes to these goals. I am also interested in the role of ecology in society, and in identifying ways that ecologists can contribute to social and environmental justice.
Kathleen Quigley, PhD
Post-Doctoral Researcher
E-mail: quigle44[at]msu.edu
As an ecologist, I am interested in how various components of our environment interact, and interactions at the soil-plant interface fascinate me most. I completed my dissertation on the abiotic and biotic drivers of silicon accumulation by grasses and the potential role of grass leaf silicification in plant-herbivore coevolution. This work was conducted in Serengeti National Park, under the supervision of Michael Anderson (Wake Forest University). As a postdoc in the Miesel lab, I am focusing on how prescribed fire affects soils in the Moquah Barrens of northern Wisconsin. I am specifically interested in how prescribed fire influences 1) carbon flux, 2) soil properties, and 3) soil microbial communities, each along gradients of past and current land use. This research has important implications not only for restoration of a critically endangered habitat, but also for improving prescribed fire management practices. Finally, I am interested in STEM education and opportunities for outreach within my local community – please contact me if you’re interested in organizing a talk or activity with your group. To read more about my past and present projects, check out my personal website.
Post-Doctoral Researcher
E-mail: quigle44[at]msu.edu
As an ecologist, I am interested in how various components of our environment interact, and interactions at the soil-plant interface fascinate me most. I completed my dissertation on the abiotic and biotic drivers of silicon accumulation by grasses and the potential role of grass leaf silicification in plant-herbivore coevolution. This work was conducted in Serengeti National Park, under the supervision of Michael Anderson (Wake Forest University). As a postdoc in the Miesel lab, I am focusing on how prescribed fire affects soils in the Moquah Barrens of northern Wisconsin. I am specifically interested in how prescribed fire influences 1) carbon flux, 2) soil properties, and 3) soil microbial communities, each along gradients of past and current land use. This research has important implications not only for restoration of a critically endangered habitat, but also for improving prescribed fire management practices. Finally, I am interested in STEM education and opportunities for outreach within my local community – please contact me if you’re interested in organizing a talk or activity with your group. To read more about my past and present projects, check out my personal website.
Jaron Adkins
PhD Student
E-mail: adkinsj5[at]msu.edu
Jaron is pursuing a dual degree PhD in the Crop and Soil Science and the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior programs. He completed a BSc degree in Biology from Boise State University in 2014 and joined the Miesel research group in 2015. His research interests focus on investigating mechanisms that control carbon stabilization in soils. His current research sites are located in mixed-conifer forest in the California Sierra-Nevada. Jaron received an MSU University Enrichment Fellowship in 2015 and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in Spring 2016.
PhD Student
E-mail: adkinsj5[at]msu.edu
Jaron is pursuing a dual degree PhD in the Crop and Soil Science and the Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior programs. He completed a BSc degree in Biology from Boise State University in 2014 and joined the Miesel research group in 2015. His research interests focus on investigating mechanisms that control carbon stabilization in soils. His current research sites are located in mixed-conifer forest in the California Sierra-Nevada. Jaron received an MSU University Enrichment Fellowship in 2015 and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in Spring 2016.
Chase O'Neil
Plant Sciences Fellow
Email: oneilch3[at]msu.edu
Chase graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a BSc in Biology and subsequently worked as a research technician in a variety of ecosystem types. After sampling soil on a burned pastureland in Florida, she discovered a new interest in fire-dependent ecosystems. She joined the Miesel lab as a graduate student in the Plant, Soil and Microbial Department in 2019. She is focused on studying the mechanisms of carbon accrual in soils and how this may differ across natural and agricultural habitats.
Plant Sciences Fellow
Email: oneilch3[at]msu.edu
Chase graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a BSc in Biology and subsequently worked as a research technician in a variety of ecosystem types. After sampling soil on a burned pastureland in Florida, she discovered a new interest in fire-dependent ecosystems. She joined the Miesel lab as a graduate student in the Plant, Soil and Microbial Department in 2019. She is focused on studying the mechanisms of carbon accrual in soils and how this may differ across natural and agricultural habitats.
Midhun Gelder
Research Technician
I immensely enjoyed the ecological courses and research that I undertook as an environmental studies major. Following that interest landed me at the Fire & Ecosystem Ecology Lab at MSU. I work as a research technician in the lab, starting fall of 2019 through spring of 2020, processing and analyzing samples from multiple projects, and assisting with lab management.
Research Technician
I immensely enjoyed the ecological courses and research that I undertook as an environmental studies major. Following that interest landed me at the Fire & Ecosystem Ecology Lab at MSU. I work as a research technician in the lab, starting fall of 2019 through spring of 2020, processing and analyzing samples from multiple projects, and assisting with lab management.
Camryn Brent
Independent Undergraduate Researcher
I am pursuing a BSc degree in Fisheries and Wildlife with a minor in Environmental Sciences and Sustainability. I am interested in ecological restoration and hope to attend graduate school in the future. I began my undergraduate research project with the Miesel lab in Fall 2019 doing greenhouse-based research investigating soil and plant response to biochar amendments. In addition, I am researching how mycorrhizal fungi nutrient absorption changes with the addition of biochar.
Independent Undergraduate Researcher
I am pursuing a BSc degree in Fisheries and Wildlife with a minor in Environmental Sciences and Sustainability. I am interested in ecological restoration and hope to attend graduate school in the future. I began my undergraduate research project with the Miesel lab in Fall 2019 doing greenhouse-based research investigating soil and plant response to biochar amendments. In addition, I am researching how mycorrhizal fungi nutrient absorption changes with the addition of biochar.
Megan Orlando
Independent Undergraduate Researcher
I am a senior graduating with a BSc in Zoology in Spring 2020, with a double concentration in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology, and Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. I am interested in broadening my knowledge of the relationships between ecological processes and ecosystems, which is why I began volunteering with the Miesel lab in Fall 2019. I am currently helping with a project focusing on Carbon Use Efficiency in forest soils obtained from wildfire sites in California.
Independent Undergraduate Researcher
I am a senior graduating with a BSc in Zoology in Spring 2020, with a double concentration in Animal Behavior and Neurobiology, and Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. I am interested in broadening my knowledge of the relationships between ecological processes and ecosystems, which is why I began volunteering with the Miesel lab in Fall 2019. I am currently helping with a project focusing on Carbon Use Efficiency in forest soils obtained from wildfire sites in California.
Alumni and past participants
Fernanda Santos, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2014-2015) |
Bernardo Maestrini, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Swiss National Science Foundation (2014-2016) |
Lucas Michelotti, MSc
MSc Forestry Plan B, 2016 |
Joshua James
MSc Forestry, 2018 |
Han Ren
Visiting PhD Student, Guangxi University, China (2016) |
Victor Fernandez Garcia
Visiting PhD student, University of Leon, Spain (2016) |
Kristin Peters
Research Technician (2017-2019) |
Becky Wildt
Independent Undergraduate Researcher & Research Technician (2016-2017) |
Brian Smith
Research Technician (2016) |
Mauro Pinelli
Visiting Undergraduate Researcher, University of Sassari, Italy (2016) |
Merissa Strawsine
Research Technician (2015) |
Ellie Domer
Research Technician (2014-2017) |
Dominic Uhelski
Independent Undergraduate Researcher & Research Technician (2015-2017) |
Jonathan Huck
Research Technician (2013-2014) |
Karli Miller
Research Technician (2013)
Research Technician (2013)