Sheel Bansal, PhD
Sheel Bansal is a Research Ecologist at the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Dr. Bansal research experience covers a wide range of topics such as tree carbon balance at alpine-treeline (Wyoming), fertility effects on boreal plant ecophysiology (Sweden), drivers of grass invasion in sagebrush-steppe (Oregon), and drought tolerance of temperate forest trees (Washington). He is now studying wetland biogeochemistry in the Prairie Pothole Region. Much of the research in his lab is focused on understanding the underlying suite of abiotic and biotic mechanistic processes that influence greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage in wetlands. His lab is developing new, high-tech equipment to more efficiently quantify the immense spatial and temporal variability of these natural processes. Dr. Bansal is also working with internal and external partners to develop spatially explicit, landscape-scale models to estimate regional carbon budgets for prairie pothole wetlands. These data and models provide DOI land managers and policy makers with information needed to understand, monitor, and anticipate changes in wetland carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions under future management, land-use and climate scenarios.
Professional Experience
2015-Present: Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Plant Physiological Ecology, Idaho State University, 2008
M.A., Conservation Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 2000
B.A., Biology, University of Pennsylvania, 1999
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union
Global Lake and Ecological Observatory Network
Journal of Environmental Quality (associate editor)
Rangeland Ecology and Management
Society of Wetland Scientists
Science and Products
Post-fire interactions between soil water repellency, soil fertility and plant growth in soil collected from a burned piñon-juniper woodland
Effect of N fertilization and tillage on nitrous oxide (N2O) loss from soil under wheat production
Temperature and hydrology affect methane emissions from Prairie Pothole Wetlands
Will changes in phenology track climate change? A study of growth initiation timing in coast Douglas-fir
Relation of initial spacing and relative stand density indices to stand characteristics in a Douglas-fir plantation spacing trial
Annual grass invasion in sagebrush-steppe: The relative importance of climate, soil properties and biotic interactions
Tolerance to multiple climate stressors: A case study of Douglas-fir drought and cold hardiness
Science and Products
Post-fire interactions between soil water repellency, soil fertility and plant growth in soil collected from a burned piñon-juniper woodland
Effect of N fertilization and tillage on nitrous oxide (N2O) loss from soil under wheat production
Temperature and hydrology affect methane emissions from Prairie Pothole Wetlands
Will changes in phenology track climate change? A study of growth initiation timing in coast Douglas-fir
Relation of initial spacing and relative stand density indices to stand characteristics in a Douglas-fir plantation spacing trial
Annual grass invasion in sagebrush-steppe: The relative importance of climate, soil properties and biotic interactions
Tolerance to multiple climate stressors: A case study of Douglas-fir drought and cold hardiness
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government