Richard T. Edwards
Emeritus Scientist
11175 Auke Lake Way
Juneau, AK 99801-8791
United States
Juneau, AK 99801-8791
United States
Phone
907-586-8811
Current Research
My current work is focused on developing new effectiveness monitoring metrics to assess the impact of riparian and stream restoration programs; studying soil-water interactions and their role in regulating the export of carbon and nutrients from coastal temperate rainforest watersheds; developing watershed classification methods to predict the effects of climate change; studying carbon fluxes from coastal temperate rainforest watersheds; and studying the ecology of hyporheic zones and retention and transformation of salmon-derived nutrients in streams.Past Research
My past work has focused on microbial ecology, microbial carbon cycling, dissolved organic matter processing and chemistry, stream nutrient cycling, stream trophic ecology, invertebrate feeding ecology, ecology of blackwater rivers, and development of methods to measure aquatic bacteria and biomass.Research Interest
Stream ecology, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, riparian-stream interactions, hydrology and ecology of surface-groundwater interaction zones, global warming and its effects on streams and stream habitat, terrestrial-near shore coastal zone interactions, fate of carbon in streams and estuaries, and the functional role of wetlands in watersheds.Why This Research Is Important
Understanding the management of aquatic ecosystems and watersheds requires an understanding of the fundamental energy and nutrient cycles and their controls. Human activities and natural disturbances all affect the underlying physical and biological processes within ecosystems in interacting ways. To anticipate and mitigate the long-term impacts of changes on ecosystem structure and function requires a better understanding of how the ecosystem works, what supports biological production, and how a habitat's physical characteristics respond to disturbance.Education
- University of Georgia, Ph.D., Aquatic ecology, 1985
- University of South Carolina, B.S., Biology, 1974
Featured Publications
- Jason B. Fellman, Eran Hood, Richard T. Edwards, Jeremy B. Jones. 2009. Uptake of allochthonous dissolved organic matter from soil and salmon in coastal temperate rainforest streams
- Jason B. Fellman, Eran Hood, David V. D'Amore, Richard T. Edwards, Dan White. 2009. Seasonal changes in the chemical quality and biodegradability of dissolved organic matter exported from soils to streams in coastal temperate rainforest watersheds
- Eran Hood, Jason Fellman, Robert G.M. Spencer, Peter J. Hernes, Rick Edwards, David D'Amore, Durelle Scott. 2009. Glaciers as a source of ancient and labile organic matter to the marine environment.
- Jason B. Fellman, Eran Hood, Richard T. Edwards, David V. D'Amore. 2009. Changes in the concentration, biodegradability, and fluorescent properties of dissolved organic matter during stormflows in coastal temperate watersheds
- Steven Wondzell, Justin LaNier, Roy Haggerty, Richard D. Woodsmith, Richard T. Edwards. 2009. Changes in hyporheic exhange flow following experimental wood removal in a small, low-gradient stream.
Other Publications
- Andrea Watts, Frances Biles, David D'Amore, Rick Edwards. 2023. The dispersed deluge: Freshwater flow from glaciers and coastal rainforests to the Gulf of Alaska
- J. Ryan Bellmore, Jason B. Fellman, Eran Hood, Matthew R. Dunkle, Richard T. Edwards. 2022. A melting cryosphere constrains fish growth by synchronizing the seasonal phenology of river food webs
- Rick T. Edwards, David V D'Amore, Frances E. Biles, Jason B. Fellman, Eran W. Hood, Joel W. Trubilowicz, William C. Floyd. 2021. Riverine dissolved organic carbon and freshwater export in the eastern Gulf of Alaska
- Jason B. Fellman, Brian Buma, Eran Hood, Richard T. Edwards, David V. D’Amore. 2017. Linking LiDAR with streamwater biogeochemistry in coastal temperate rainforest watersheds
- Brian Buma, John Krapek, Rick T. Edwards. 2016. Watershed-scale forest biomass distribution in a perhumid temperate rainforest as driven by topographic, soil, and disturbance variables
- David V D’Amore, Rick T. Edwards, Frances E. Biles. 2016. Biophysical controls on dissolved organic carbon concentrations of Alaskan coastal temperate rainforest streams
- David V. D'Amore, Rick T. Edwards, Paul A. Herendeen, Eran Hood, Jason B. Fellman. 2015. Dissolved organic carbon fluxes from hydropedologic units in Alaskan coastal temperate rainforest watersheds
- Rhonda Mazza, Richard Edwards, David D'Amore. 2010. Life on the edge: carbon fluxes from wetland to ocean along Alaska's coastal temperate rain forest
- A.C. Johnson, R.T. Edwards, R. Erhardt. 2007. Ground-water response to forest harvest: implications for hillslope stability
- Mark S. Wipfli, Robert L. Deal, Paul E. Hennon, Adelaide C. Johnson, Richard T. Edwards, Toni L. De Santo, Takashi Gomi, Ewa H. Orlikowska, Mason D. Bryant, Mark E. Schultz, Christian LeSage, Ryan Kimbirauskus, David V. D'Amore. 2003. Compatible management of red alder-conifer ecosystems in southeastern Alaska.
- Mark S. Wipfli, Robert L. Deal, Paul E. Hennon, Adelaide C. Johnson, Toni L. de Santo, Thomas A. Hanley, Mark E. Schultz, Mason D. Bryant, Richard T. Edwards, Ewa H. Orlikowska, Takashi Gomi. 2002. Managing young upland forests in southeast Alaska for wood products, wildlife, aquatic resources, and fishes: problem analysis and study plan.
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The rivers of southeast Alaska annually drain an incredible amount of water rich in dissolved organic carbon into the Gulf of Alaska. These seasonally variable fluxes interact with large estuaries and nearshore coastal currents along a complex shoreline where they influence ocean currents and the productivity of fisheries worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Improved modeling is informing alterations to the coastal zone management plan that guides conservation and management planning in Alaska.Year2021Research Station -
This hazard will likely become more common as glaciers recede. Documentation of this still rare event provides insight to the dynamics of alpine tsunamis and will lead to better risk assessments across southeast Alaska.Year2018Research StationPrincipal Investigator(s): Richard T. EdwardsState(s)Alaska -
Every plant and animal species, no matter how big or small, depends on other plants or animals to survive. These relationships among species create a “food web,” which illustrates the transfer of energy and nutrients as one organism eats another and in turn gets eaten.Year2018Research StationPrincipal Investigator(s): J. Ryan Bellmore -
In the rugged terrain of the Alaska coastal temperate rain forest, weather patterns differ widely in lateral and vertical directions, but there are almost no data on fundamental meteorological variables at different elevations.Year2017Research StationPrincipal Investigator(s): Richard T. EdwardsState(s)Alaska -
Warming trends in southeast Alaska will have a potentially significant impact on salmon habitat by altering thermal regimes in streams. In addition to general warming resulting from increased air temperatures, loss of glacial water inputs will have profound effects on the range and seasonality of water temperatures.Year2017Research StationPrincipal Investigator(s): Richard T. EdwardsState(s)Alaska -
Scientists in southeast Alaska have established methods for quantifying fluxes of carbon from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems across a gradient of forest structures. It provides a powerful approach to understanding short- and long-term aspects of carbon sequestration on the forest, which can then be applied to regional and national carbon sequestration goals.Year2010Research StationPrincipal Investigator(s): Richard T. EdwardsState(s)Alaska
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Last updated June 25, 2021