GEORGE W. KOCH
Curriculum vita
Professional Preparation
Stanford University, Biological Sciences, B. S. (1978)
Stanford University, Biological Sciences, Ph. D. (1988)
University of California, Davis, Postdoctoral Researcher (1988 – 1990)
UC Davis, NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Biology (1990 – 1992)
Appointments
2005- present Associate Director, Western Regional Center, National Institute for
Climatic Change Research, U.S. Department of Energy
2004 – present Professor of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University
1999 – 2004
Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona
University.
1994 – 1998
Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona
University.
1992 – 1994
Project Officer, International Geosphere-Biosphere Program,
Stanford
Research Interests
Plant ecophysiology; plant water relations; climatic change; global change biology;
ecological restoration.
Publications (bold denotes new since last review)
Compson, Z. G., B. A. Hungate, G. W. Koch, J. M. Maestas, K. J. Adams, T. G.
Whitham, J. C. Marks. 2013. Labeled C and N assimilation by aquatic insects
challenges litter quality perspectives: implications for nutrient cycling. PLOS
ONE, in press
Hurteau M. D., T. A. Robards, D. Stevens, S. Saah, M. North, G. W. Koch. 2013.
Modleing climate and fuel reduction impacts on mixed-conifer forest carbon
stocks in the Sierra Nevada, California. Ecosystems, in press.
Classen, A. T., S. K. Chapman, T. G. Whitham, S. C. Hart, G. W. Koch. 2013. Longterm insect herbivory slows soil development in an arid ecosystem. Ecosphere
4(5):52
Chapman, S.K. G.S. Newman, S.C. Hart, J.A. Schweitzer, and G.W. Koch. 2013.
Linking microbial community development to mixed litter decomposition. PLOS
One 8(4): e62671
Kerhoulas, L. P., T. E. Kolb, G. W. Koch. 2013. Tree size, stand density, and the
source of water used across seasons by ponderosa pine in northern Arizona.
Forest Ecology and Management, 289:425-433.
Kerhoulas, L. P., T. E. Kolb, M. D. Hurteau, G. W. Koch. 2013. Managing climate
change adaptation in forests: a case study from the U.S. Southwest. Journal
of Applied Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12139
Dore, S., M. Montes-Helu, S. C. Hart, B. A. Hungate, G. W. Koch, J. B. Moon, A. J.
Finkral, T. E. Kolb. 2012. Recovery of ponderosa pine ecosystem carbon and water
fluxes from thinning and stand replacing fire. Global Change Biology, 18, 3171–3185.
Hurteau,M. D., M. North, GW Koch, BA Hungate, G. Smith. 2012. Aligning Ecology
and Markets in the Forest Carbon Cycle. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,
11: 37–42
Wu Z, P Dijkstra, GW Koch, BA Hungate. 2012. Progressively declining climate change
effects on plant productivity. Nature Climate Change 2:458-462.
Dijkstra P, JC Blankinship, PC Selmants, SC Hart, GW Koch, E Schwartz, BA Hungate.
2011. Probing carbon flux patterns through soil microbial metabolic networks using
parallel position-specific tracer labeling. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43(1): 126 132
Dijkstra P, Dalder JJ, Selmants PC, Hart SC, Koch GW, Schwartz E and Hungate BA
2011. Modeling soil metabolic processes using isotopologue pairs of position-specific
13
C-labeled glucose and pyruvate. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 43: 1848-1857.
Dijkstra P, SC Thomas, PL Heinrich, GW Koch, E Schwartz, BA Hungate. 2011. Effect
of temperature on metabolic activity of intact microbial communities: Evidence for
altered metabolic pathway activity but not for increased maintenance respiration and
reduced carbon efficiency. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 43 (10):2023-2031.
Wu Z, GW Koch, P Dijkstra, MA Bowker, BA Hungate. 2011. Responses of Ecosystem
Carbon Cycling to Climate Change Treatments Along an Elevation Gradient.
Ecosystems. DOI: 10.1007/s10021-011-9464-4
Sillett SC, R Van Pelt, GW Koch, AR Ambrose, AL Carroll, ME Antoine, BM Misfud.
2010. Increasing wood production through old age in tall trees. Forest Ecology and
Management 259:976-994.
Ambrose AA, SC Sillett, GW Koch, R Van Pelt, ME Antonie, TE Dawson. 2010. Effects
of height on treetop transpiration and stomatal conductance in coast redwood
(Sequoia sempervirens). Tree Physiology, doi:10.1093/treephys/tpq064
Oldham AR, SC Sillett, AMF Tomescu, GW Koch. 2010. The hydrostatic gradient, not
light availability, drives height-related variation in Sequoia sempervirens
(Cupressaceae) leaf anatomy. American Journal of Botany 97(7): 1 – 12.
Dore S, TE Kolb, M Montes-Helu, SE Eckert, BW Sullivan, BA Hungate, JP Kaye, SC
Hart, GW Koch, A. Finkral. 2010. Carbon and water fluxes from ponderosa pine
forests disturbed by wildfire and thinning. Ecological Applications, 20(3):663-683.
Wu Z, P Dijkstra, GW Koch, J Peñuelas, BA Hungate. 2010. Responses of terrestrial
ecosystems to temperature and precipitation change: a meta-analysis of experimental
manipulation. Global Change Biology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02302.x
Koch GW and SC Sillett. 2009. A response to: Limitations within “The Limits to Tree
Height”. Am. J. Botany 96(2):545-547.
Mullin LP, SC Sillett, GW Koch, KP Tu, ME Antoine. 2009. Physiological consequences
of height-related morphological variation in Sequoia sempervirens foliage. Tree
Physiology 29(8):999-1010
Hurteau, MD, BA Hungate, GW Koch. 2009. Accounting for risk in valuing forest
carbon offsets. Carbon Balance and Management, 4:1, doi: 10.1186/1750-0680-4-1.
Montes-Helu, MC, TE Kolb, S Dore, B Sullivan, SC Hart, GW Koch, BA Hungate, 2009.
Persistent effects of fire-induced vegetation change on energy partitioning and
evapotranspiration in ponderosa pine forests. 2008. Agricultural and Forest
Meteorology, 149:491-500.
Hurteau, MD, GW Koch, BA Hungate 2008. Carbon protection and fire risk reduction:
toward a full accounting of forest carbon offsets. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment 6:doi:10.1890/070187
Bowker MA, NC Johnson, J Belnap, GW Koch. 2008. Short-term monitoring of aridland
lichen cover and biomass using photography and fatty acids. Journal of Arid
Environments 72:869-878.
Bowker MA, GW Koch, J Belnap, NC Johnson. 2008. Nutrient availability affects
pirgment production but not growth in lichens of biological soil crusts. Soil Biology
and Biochemistry. in press
Dore S, TE Kolb, M Montes-Helu, BW Sullivan, WD Winslow, SC Hart, JP Kaye, GW
Koch, BA Hungate. Global Change Biology 14:1801-1820.
Ishii, HT, Jennings GM, Sillett SC, Koch GW. 2008. Hydraulic constraints on
morphological exploitation of light in tall Sequoia sempervirens trees. Oecologia,
156:751-763.
Classen AT, Chapman SK, Whitham TG, Hart SC, and Koch GW (2007) Genetic-based
plant resistance and susceptibility traits to herbivory influence needle and root litter
nutrient dynamics. Journal of Ecology 95: in press.
Chapman, S.K. and G.W. Koch. 2007 What type of biodiversity yields synergy during
mixed litter decomposition in a natural forest ecosystem? Plant and Soil. DOI
10.1007/s11104-007-9372-8
Sisk TD, Castellanos AE, Koch GW. 2007. Ecological impacts of wildlife conservation
units policy in Mexico. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. 5(4):209-212.
Classen AT, Overby ST, Hart SC, Koch GW, and Whitham TG (2007) Season mediates
herbivore effects on litter and soil microbial abundance and activity in a semi-arid
woodland. Plant and Soil 295:217-227.
Simonin K, Kolb TE, Montes-Helu M, Koch GW. 2007. The influence of thinning on
components of stand water balance in a ponderosa pine forest stand during and after
extreme drought. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 143(3-4): 266-276.
Simonin K, TE Kolb, M Montes-Helu, and GW Koch (2006) Restoration thinning and
the influence of tree size and leaf area to sapwood area ratio on Pinus ponderosa.
Tree Physiology 26:493-503.
Chapman SK, JA Langley, SC Hart, and GW Koch. (2006). Plants actively control
nitrogen cycling: uncorking the microbial bottleneck. New Phytologist 169:27-34.
Langley JA, NC Johnson, and GW Koch (2005). Mycorrhizal status influences the rate
but not the temperature dependence of soil respiration. Plant and Soil 277:335-344.
Classen AT, J DeMarco, SC Hart, TG Whitham, NS Cobb, and GW Koch (2006) Impacts
of herbivorous insects on decomposer communities during the early stages of primary
succession in a semi-arid woodland. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 38: 972–982
Classen AT, SC Hart, TG Whitham, NS Cobb, and GW Koch (2005). Chronic insect
herbivory on piñon pines alters soil microclimate: potential ecosystem consequences.
Soil Science Society of America Journal. 69:2049-2057.
Johnson, NC, J Wolf, MA Reyes, A Pander, GW Koch, and A Redman (2005). Species
of plants and associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi mediate mycorrhizal responses
to CO2 enrichment. Global Change Biology 11:1-11.
Koch GW, SC Sillett, GM Jennings, and SD Davis (2004). The limits to tree height.
Nature 428:851-854.
Huxman TE, MD Smith, PA Fay, AK Knapp, MR Shaw, ME Loik, SD Smith, DT Tissue,
JC Zak, JF Weltzin, WT Pockman, OE Sala, B Haddad, J Harte, GW Koch, S
Schwinning, EE. Small, DG Williams. (2004) Convergence across biomes to a
common rain-use efficiency. Nature, 429:651-654
Johnson NC, Wolf J, Koch GW. 2003. Interactions among mycorrhizae, atmospheric CO2,
and soil N impact plant community composition. Ecology Letters 6:532-540.
Palermo, B. L., Clancy, K. L., Koch, G.W. (2003) Feeding and oviposition behavior do
not explain Douglas-fir resistance to defoliation by the western spruce budworm,
(Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Environmental Entomology 32(3):626-632.
Palermo, B. L., Clancy, K. L., Koch, G.W. (2003) The potential role of ectomycorrhizal
fungi in determining Douglas-fir resistance to defoliation by the western spruce
budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Journal of Economic Entomology 96(3),783-791
Dijkstra P, Williamson, C.], Menyailo, O., Doucett, R., Koch, G., Hungate, B. A. (2003)
nitrogen stable isotope composition of leaves and roots of plants growing in a forest
and a meadow. Isotopes Environ. Health Stud. 39(1):29-39.
Hungate BA and Koch, GW 2002. Global Environmental Change: Biospheric Impacts
and Feedbacks. In: Holton J, Pyle J, Curry J (eds) Encyclopedia of Atmospheric
Sciences Academic Press.
Chapman, S. K., Cobb, N. S., Hart, S. C., Whitham, T. G., Koch, G. W. (2003). Insect
herbivory increases litter quality and decomposition: an extension of the acceleration
hypothesis. Ecology 84, 2867-2876
Amthor JS, GW Koch, JR Willms, and DB Layzell. 2001. Leaf O2 uptake in the dark is
independent of concomitant CO2 partial pressure. Journal of Experimental Botany 52
(364): 2235-2238
Drake BG Azcon-Bieto, J., Berry, J., Bunce, J., Dahlman, R., Dijkstra, P., Farrar, J.,
Gifford, R. M., Gonzalez-Meler, M. A., Koch, G., Lambers, H., Siedow, J., and
Wullschleger, S. 1999. Does elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration inhibit
mitochondrial respiration in green plants? Plant, Cell and Environment, 22 (6): 649657.
Fredeen AJ, GW Koch, CB Field. 1998. Influence of fertilization and atmospheric CO2
enrichment on ecosystem CO2 and H2O exchanges in single- and multiple-species
grassland microcosms. 1998, Environmental and Experimental Botany. 40:147-157.
Koch GW, Steffen WL, Walker BH, Vitousek PM. 1995. Terrestrial transects for global
change research. Vegetatio 121:53-65.
Fredeen AL, Koch GW, Field CB. 1995. Effects of atmospheric CO2 enrichment on
ecosystem CO2 exchange in a nutrient- and water limited grassland. Journal of
Biogeography 22: 215-219.
Koch GW, Amthor JS, Goulden ML 1994 Diurnal patterns of leaf photosynthesis,
conductance, and water potential at the top of a lowland rainforest canopy in
Cameroon: measurements from the Radeau des Cimes. Tree Physiology 14: 347-360.
Mooney HA and Koch GW (1994) The impact of rising CO2 concentrations on the
terrestrial biosphere. Ambio 23(1): 74-76.
Mooney HA, Koch GW, Field CB (1994) Potential impacts of asymmetrical day-night
temperature increase on biotic systems. pp 467-484 in Kukla, G, Karl, TR and Riches
MR (eds.) Asymmetric Change of Daily Temperature Range. Proceedings of the
International MINIMAX Workshop. U.S. Department of Energy CONF-9309350.
Koch GW, Bloom AJ, Chapin FS III. 1992. Ammonium and nitrate as nitrogen sources in
two Eriophorum species. Oecologia 88:570-573.
Amthor JS, Koch GW, Bloom AJ. 1991. Carbon dioxide inhibits apparent respiration in
Rumex crispus leaves. Plant Physiology 98:757-760.
Küppers M, Koch GW, Küppers BL, Chu C, Mooney HA. 1989. Kompensatorische und
verstärkende Effekte zwischen Photosynthese und Wachstum. Tagungsbanc der
Gesellschaft für ökologie, Osnabruck.
Garnier E, Koch GW, Roy J, Mooney HA. 1989. Response of wild plants to nitrate
availability. Relationships between growth rate and nitrate uptake parameters, a case
study with two Bromus species, and a survey. Oecologia 79:542-550.
Koch GW, Schulze E-D, Percival F, Mooney HA, Chu C. 1988. The nitrogen balance of
Raphanus sativus x raphanistrum plants. II. Growth, nitrogen redistribution, and
photosynthesis under NO3- deprivation. Plant, Cell and Envoironment 11:755-767.
Mooney HA, Küppers M, Koch GW, Gorham J, Chu C, Winner WE. 1988.
Compensating effects to growth of carbon partitioning changes in response to SO2induced photosynthetic reduction in radish. Oecologia 75:502-506.
Küppers M, Koch GW, Mooney HA. 1988. Compensating effects to growth of changes
in dry matter allocation in response to variation in photosynthetic characteristics
induced by photoperiod, light, and nitrogen. Australian Journal of Plant Physiology
15:287-298
Choe HS, Chu C, Koch GW, Gorham J, Mooney HA. 1988. Seed weight and seed
resources in relation to plant growth rate. Oecologia 76:158-159.
Koch GW, Winner WE, Nardone A, Mooney HA. 1987. A system for controlling the root
and shoot environment for plant growth studies. Environmental and Experimental
Botany 27:365-377.
Schulze E-D, Koch GW, Percival F, Mooney HA, Chu C. 1985. The nitrogen balance of
Raphanus sativus x raphanistrum plants. I. Daily nitrogen use under high nitrate
supply. Plant, Cell and Environment 8:713-720.
Williams K, Koch GW, Mooney HA 1985. The carbon balance of flowers of Diplacus
aurantiacus Scrophulariaceae. Oecologia 66:530-535.
Winner WE, Koch GW. 1982. Water relations and SO2 resistance of mosses. Journal of
the Hattori Botanical Society 52:431-440.
Winner WE, Koch GW, Mooney HA. 1982. Ecology of SO2 resistance: IV. Predicting
metabolic responses of fumigated shrubs. Oecologia 52:16-22.
Winner WE, Smith CL, Koch GW, Mooney HA, Bewley JR, Krouse HR. 1981. H2S
emission rates from plants and patterns of stable isotope fractionation. Nature
289:672-3.
Book chapters
Castellanos-Villegas, A. E., L. C. Bravo, G. W. Koch, J. Llano, D. López, R. Mendez, J.
C. Rodríquez, R. Romo, T. D. Sisk, G. Yanes. 2010. Impactos ecologicos por el uso
del terreno en le funcionnamiento de ecosistemas áridos y smi-áridos de Sonora. En:
F.E. Molina-Freaner y T.R. Van Devender, eds. Diversidad biológica de Sonora.
UNAM, México, pp. 157-186.
Koch GW and AL Fredeen. 2005. Transport challenges in tall trees. In Vascular
Transport in Plants. Eds. N.M. Holbrook and M.A. Zwieniecki. Elsevier Academic
Press, Amsterdam, pp 437–456.
Hungate, B.A and Koch, GW 2002. Global Environmental Change: Biospheric Impacts
and Feedbacks. In: Holton J, Pyle J, Curry J (eds) Encyclopedia of Atmospheric
Sciences Academic Press.
Jackson, LE and Koch GW. 1997. The Ecophysiology of Crops and Their Wild Relatives.
In: LE Jackson, (ed) Ecology in Agriculture: Examples of Crop Adaptations, Biotic
Interactions, and Agroecosystem Functioning. Springer-Verlag..
Koch GW and Mooney HA. 1996. Response of Terrestrial Ecosystems to Elevated
Carbon Dioxide: A Synthesis and Summary. pp 415-430 in Koch, GW & Mooney,
HA.(eds) Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems. Academic Press, San Diego.
Amthor JS and Koch GW. 1996. Biota Growth Factor b:Stimulation of Terrestrial
Ecosystem Net Primary Production by Elevated Atmospheric CO2. pp399-414 in
Koch, GW & Mooney, HA.(eds) Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems.
Academic Press, San Diego.
Koch GW. 1993. The use of natural situations of CO2 enrichment in studies of vegetation
responses to increasing atmospheric CO2. pp 381-391 in Schulze E-D, Mooney HA
(eds.) Design and Execution of Experiments on CO2 Enrichment. Ecosystem
Research Report 6, Commission of the European Community.
Mooney HA, Fichtner K, Koch GW. 1993. Photosynthesis, allocation and storage. pp
133-146. In: E-D Schulze, M M Caldwell eds. The Ecophysiology of Photosynthesis.
Ecological Studies 100. Springer-Verlag.
Books edited
Koch GW and Mooney HA. 1996. Carbon Dioxide and Terrestrial Ecosystems.
Academic Press, San Diego.
Other publications
Steffen WL, Walker BH, Ingram JS, Koch GW (eds.) (1992) Global Change and
Terrestrial Ecosystems: The Operational Plan. International Geosphere-Biosphere
Programme, Stockholm.
Koch GW, Amthor JS, Goulden ML, Salager J-L. (1992) Regulation of leaf gas exchange
in a tropical rain forest canopy. A report to Foundation ELF, Montpellier, France.
Koch GW. (1990) Ecological Cost Accounting. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of
America 71:132-134.
Graduate students for whom I have served as primary or co-primary advisor
Michele Giovannini, M.S. 1997
Samantha Chapman, Ph.D. 2006
Daniel Boughter, M.S. 1998
Raul Romo, M.S. 2006
Daniel M. Barr, M.S. 1999
Deladier Lopez-Robles, M.S., 2007
Barbara Palermo, M.S., 2002
Christina Bentrup, M.S., 2009
Megan Hedlund, M.S., 2003
Melinda McKinney, M.S. 2011
Colin Edgar, M.S., 2004
Michael Barber, M.S. 2009
Aimée Classen, Ph.D., 2004
Adam Langley, Ph.D., 2005
Jamie Quisenberry, M.S. 2010
Emily Borodkin, M.S. in progress
Jonathan Donald, M.S. 2011
Lucy Mullin, Ph.D. in progress
Nicolas Umstaddt, M.S. in progress
Grant Support
Active before and during Review Period
1. SMP: A Professional Science Master's in Climate Science and Solutions for
Northern Arizona University. NSF, $698,733. PI.
2. Climate Science and Solutions: A proposal for new academic programs and
research initiatives. NAU Innovation Fund, $254,742. PI.
3. Undergraduate Research in Global Climate Change Science at Northern Arizona
University. NASA, $387,580. PI.
4. Modeling the Carbon Implications of Ecologically-Based Forest Management.
Department of Defense. $1,058,035. Co-I.
5. Enhancing the Merriam-Powell Research Station to support climatic change
research and education. NSF, $244,887. Co-I.
6. MRI: Development of a Southwest Experimental Garden Array (SEGA) for
Integrating Genetics and Climate Change. NSF, $2,471,913. Co-I
7. Challenging a mutualism paradigm: Do bark beetles need fungi? NSF, $100,000.
Co-I.
Newly funded during Review Period
1. Digging deeper: in situ metabolic analysis of soil C cycling processes. NSF,
$588,022. Co-I.
2. IRES: Patagonian Research Experiences in Sustainability Science (PRESS):
Understanding Social-Ecological Drivers and Consequences of Global Change,
NSF, $249,990, Co-I.
3. Multiple Element Isotope Probes, non-SIMS, and the Functional Genomics of
Microbial Carbon Cycling in Soils in Response to Chronic Climate Change, DOE,
$1,422,775, Co-I.
4. Fuels treatment effects on carbon stocks and insect induced mortality 10-years
post-treatment. US Forest Service, $235,606, PI
Submitted during Review Period and Pending
1. Collaborative Research: Extreme events and ecological acclimation: Scaling from
cells to ecosystems. NSF Macrosystems Biology, $196,463, Co-I, pending.
2. IOS Preliminary Proposal: Collaborative Proposal: The Physiological Legacies of
Integrated and Episodic Hydraulic Stress in Woody Plants. PI, declined.
3. IOS preliminary proposal: Collaborative proposal. Do bark beetles need fungi?
Testing a mutualism paradigm in different host-defense systems. Co-I, declined.