Martin F. Jurgensen

"Soil is the basis of all terrestrial life."

Contact

mfjurgen@mtu.edu
906-487-2206
Noblet Building 137

Research Professor

PhD, Soil Science (Microbiology), North Carolina State University
MS, Silviculture, State University of New York
BS, Forestry, State University of New York

Nothing in Moderation

When I was an undergraduate forestry student, I wanted to manage forests in a sustainable manner to benefit society and future generations. However, my graduate studies and subsequent research activity showed me that to maintain healthy forest ecosystems you have to manage the soil.

My teaching and research program emphasizes the interaction of plants, animals and soil, and how they impact forest ecosystem productivity and sustainability. All students in my classes and working on my research studies learn “not to treat soil like dirt”!

Links of Interest

Teaching Excellence Fund

Areas of Expertise

Forest soil productivity, management and sustainability
Global climate change impact on soil biology
Organic matter decomposition and ecosystem nutrient cycling

Recent Publications

Jurgensen, M.F., Miller, C.A., Trettin, C.T., Page-Dumroese, D.S. 2019. Bedding of wetland soil: Effects of bed height and termite activity on wood decomposition. Soil Science Society America Journal doi:10.2136/sssaj2018.12.0492
Wang, W., Page-Dumroese, D., Jurgensen,, M.F., Miller, C., Walitalo, J., Chen, X., Liu, Y. 2019. Thinning effects on tree growth and decomposition of standard wood substrates in a pine plantation. Forest Ecology and Management 449:117451 OI:0.1016/j.foreco.2019.117451
Page-Dumroese, D.S., Jurgensen, M.F., Miller, C.A., Pickens, J., Tirocke, J.M. 2019. Wildfire alters belowground and surface wood decomposition on two national forests in Montana, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 28: 456–469. doi.org/10.1071/WF18218
Wang, W., Page-Dumroese, D., Jurgensen, M., Tirocke, J., and Y. Liu. 2018. Effects of forest thinning and wood quality on the short-term wood decomposition rate in a Pinus tabuliformis plantation. Journal of Plant Research: doi.org/10.1007/s10265-018-1069-y
Powers, M., Kolka, R., Bradford, J., Palik, B., Jurgensen, M. 2018. Forest floor and mineral soil respiration rates in a northern Minnesota red pine chronosequence. Forests: 9(1), 16.
Blanco, J.A., Page-Dumroese, D.S., Jurgensen, M.F., Curran, M., Tirocke, J., Walitalo, J. 2018. Modelling the management of forest ecosystems: importance of wood decomposition. Natural Resource Modeling: DOI: 10.1111/nrm.12173.
Bal, T.L., Storer, A.J., Jurgensen, M.F. 2018. Evidence of damage from exotic invasive earthworm activity was highly correlated to sugar maple dieback in the Upper Great Lakes region. Biological Invasions 20:151–164.
Mosier, S.L., Kane, E.S., Richter, D.L., Lilleskov, E.A., Jurgensen, M.F., Burton, A.J., and S.C. Resh. 2017. Interactive effects of climate change and fungal communities on wood-derived carbon in forest soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 115: 297- 309.
Jurgensen, M.F., Page-Dumroese, D.S., Brown, R.E., Tirocke, J.M., Miller, C.A., Pickens, J.B., Wang, M. 2017. Estimating carbon and nitrogen pools in a forest soil: influence of soil bulk density methods and rock content. Soil Science Society America Journal 81:1689 - 1696.
Acet, M., Jurgensen, M.F., Kane, E., Gailing, O. 2017. Genet diversity, genetic structure, and trait expression of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) after clear-cut harvesting and post-harvest soil treatments. Botany 95: 785 – 798.
Fissore, C., Jurgensen, M.F., Pickens, J, Miller, C,, Page-Dumroese, D., Giardina, C.P. 2016. Role of soil texture, clay mineralogy, location, and temperature in coarse wood decomposition—a mesocosm experiment. Ecosphere 7(11):e01605. 10.1002/ecs2.1605
Fresher, K.N., Jurgensen, M.F. Gailing, O. 2016. Comparison of phenotypic and genetic clone delineation in quaking aspen, Populus tremuloides. Trees 30:1657–1667.