DR. MELANIE VILE

Dr. Vile is a Peatland Ecosystem Ecologist, and the bulk of her research takes place in boreal peatlands of northern Alberta Canada. Boreal peatlands occupy less than 3% of earth’s land surface, yet store roughly 20-30 % of the world’s soil carbon (C). Peatlands provide a wide diversity of ecosystem services, not the least of which is the long-term conversion of atmospheric carbon-dioxide into large accumulations of stored organic C as peat. Research in her lab includes effects of climate change-related drought, increased severity and frequency of wildfire on C accumulation and, more recently, effects of increasing nitrogen and sulfur deposition related to oil sands mining on peatland function in northern Alberta. Her research is a collaborative effort, as Dr. Vile work with Drs. Kelman Wieder (Villanova University), and Dale Vitt (Southern Illinois University).