David Olefeldt

Associate Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept

Contact

Associate Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept
Email
olefeldt@ualberta.ca
Phone
(780) 248-1814
Address
3-48D South Academic Building
11328 - 89 Ave NW
Edmonton AB
T6G 2J7

Overview

Research

Major responsibilities/Research Interests:

My research interests are broadly focused on catchment carbon cycling in boreal to arctic landscapes, with a focus on the role of wetlands. Wetlands store vast amounts of organic carbon in the form of peat, but these stores are sensitive to disturbances such as permafrost thaw, wildfire, droughts and human activities. A destabilization of wetlands has been identified as one of the largest potential transfers of carbon from the biosphere to the atmosphere, a potential major feedback mechanism to ongoing climate change. I study both the exchange of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) between land and atmosphere as well as the downstream transport and fate of dissolved organic carbon. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas which is very sensitive to wetland conditions. Downstream transport of dissolved organic carbon from wetlands is a main control on the carbon balance and food-web structure in streams and lakes. I have in my research addressed questions related to wetland carbon cycling and carbon export following disturbances such as permafrost thaw and wildfire, with work in both Scandinavia and the Mackenzie watershed. My research bridges topics within soil and aquatic sciences and I often combine field, lab and remote sensing approaches to answer my research questions.

Courses

REN R 250 - Water Resource Management

The course introduces basic hydrological principles, the global water cycle, global demand and supply of freshwater, history and current concepts in water resource management, water conflict, water law, and water economics. The course emphasizes Canadian and global water management issues of the 21st century, including water regulation, climate change, drinking water availability, water quality, eutrophication, and freshwater biodiversity. Prerequisite: *30.


REN R 605 - Advanced Research Skills

Prepares PhD students to function in a research environment. Focuses on research management, best practices in scientific research, and ethics and philosophy of science. The grade is credit/no credit.


Browse more courses taught by David Olefeldt

Publications

A simplified, data-constrained approach to estimate the permafrost carbon-climate feedback

Author(s): CD Koven, D Olefeldt, et al
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
Volume: A
Issue: 373
Page Numbers: 20140423

Biomass production efficiency controlled by management in temperate and boreal ecosystems

Author(s): M Campioli, D Olefeldt, et al
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Nature Geoscience
Volume: 8
Page Numbers: 843-846

Carbon budget estimation of a subarctic catchment using a dynamic ecosystem model at high spatial resolution

Author(s): J Tang, PA Miller, A Persson, D Olefeldt, P Pilesjö, M Heliasz, M Jackowicz-Korczynski, Z Yang, B Smith, TV Callaghan, TR Christensen
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Biogeosciences
Volume: 12
Page Numbers: 2791-2808

Climate change and the permafrost carbon feedback

Author(s): EAG Schuur, AD McGuire, C Schädel, G Grosse, JW Harden, DJ Hayes, G Hugelius, CD Koven, P Kuhry, DM Lawrence, SM Natali, D Olefeldt, VE Romanovsky, K Schaefer, MR Turetsky, CC Treat, JE Vonk
Publication Date: 2015
Publication: Nature
Volume: 520
Page Numbers: 171-179

A synthesis of methane emissions from 70 northern, temperate, and subtropical wetlands

Author(s): Turetsky MR, Kotowska A, Bubier J, Dise NB, Crill P, Hornibrook E, Minkinnen K, Moore TR, Myer-Smith IH, Nykänen H, Olefeldt D, Rinne J, Saarnio S, Shurpali N, Waddington JW, White J, Wickland K, Wilmking W
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Global Change Biology
Volume: 20
Page Numbers: 2183-2197

A synthesis of methane emissions from 71 northern, temperate, and subtropical wetlands

Author(s): MR Turetsky, D Olefeldt, et al
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Global Change Biology
Volume: 20
Issue: 7
Page Numbers: 2183-2197

Influence of the permafrost boundary on dissolved organic matter characteristics in rivers within the Boreal and Taiga plains of western Canada

Author(s): D Olefeldt, Andreas Persson, MR Turetsky
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Environmental Research Letters
Volume: 9
Page Numbers: 035005

Influence of the permafrost boundary on dissolved organic matter characteristics in rivers within the Boreal and Taiga Plains of western Canada

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Turetsky MR, Persson A
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Environmental Research Letters
Volume: 9
Page Numbers: 035005

Permafrost conditions in peatlands regulate magnitude, timing, and chemical composition of catchment dissolved organic carbon export

Author(s): D Olefeldt, N Roulet
Publication Date: 2014
Publication: Global Change Biology
Volume: 20
Page Numbers: 3122-3136

Altered composition and microbial versus UV-mediated degradation of dissolved organic matter in boreal soils following wildfire

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Turetsky MR, Blodau C
Publication Date: 2013
Publication: Ecosystems
Volume: 16
Page Numbers: 1396-1412

Environmental and physical controls on northern terrestrial methane fluxes across permafrost zones

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Turetsky MR, Crill P, McGuire D
Publication Date: 2013
Publication: Global Change Biology
Volume: 19
Page Numbers: 589-603

Sources and fate of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon in lakes of a Boreal Plains region recently affected by wildfire

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Devito KJ, Turetsky MR
Publication Date: 2013
Publication: Biogeosciences
Volume: 10
Page Numbers: 6247-6265

Total waterborne carbon export and DOC composition from ten nested subarctic catchments – importance of peatland cover, groundwater influence and inter-annual variability of precipitation patterns

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Roulet NT, Giesler R, Persson A
Publication Date: 2013
Publication: Hydrological processes
Volume: 27
Page Numbers: 2280-2294

Effects of permafrost and hydrology on the composition and transport of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in a subarctic peatland complex

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Roulet NT
Publication Date: 2012
Publication: Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences
Volume: 117
Page Numbers: G01005

High resolution mapping of peatland hydroperiod at a high-latitude Swedish mire

Author(s): Torbick N, Persson A, Olefeldt D, Frolking S, Salas W, Hagen S, Li W
Publication Date: 2012
Publication: Remote Sensing
Volume: 4
Page Numbers: 1974-1994

Net carbon accumulation of a high-latitude permafrost palsa mire similar to permafrost-free peatlands

Author(s): Olefeldt D, Roulet NT, Bergeron O, Crill P, Bäckstrand K, Christensen TR
Publication Date: 2012
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 39
Page Numbers: L03501