Phone: 605-688-6464

Email: Carol.Johnston@sdstate.edu

Current Research Interests:

- Wetland Plant Ecological Indicators. I lead a multi-University team that sampled vegetation in 90 wetlands throughout the Great Lakes. We are statistically analyzing the data to recommend vegetation measurements that indicate environmental condition.

- Wetland Remote Sensing. Several of my students and postdocs are evaluating the utility of remote sensing imagery (QuickBird, Hyperion) for mapping wetlands and invasive wetland plants.

- Soil Carbon. I am interested in ecosystem processes mechanisms that affect carbon storage or loss from the soil, particularly near the Brookings AmeriFlux site.

- Landscape Ecology of Watersheds. Working with researchers from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Oregon, I am studying how wetlands and other watershed features affect stream flow and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations in streams near the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Station.

- GIS in Ecology. I utilize GIS and GPS in most of my research, and wrote a textbook on the subject. Several of my recent publications have been about ecological consequences of land use change.

Past Research:

- Ecology of Beaver Ponds. I studied the ecology of beaver pond construction in Voyageurs National Park, near International Falls, Minnesota.

- Wetland Biogeochemistry. I studied ecosystem processes affecting sediment and nutrient fluxes in Wisconsin and Minnesota wetlands.

- Shoreline Erosion. I used historical aerial photos to measure erosion hazard along Lake Superior.