fitzhugh@life.uiuc.edu

Education

Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Syracuse University, 2000. Advisor: Charles T. Driscoll. Thesis: Canopy tree-soil-microbe interactions in a northern hardwood ecosystem:  Effects of soil freezing disturbance on soil solution chemistry and nutrient loss.

M.S., Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 1996. Advisor: Tanya Furman. Thesis: Controls on longitudinal and seasonal variation of stream acidity in a headwater catchment on the Appalachian Plateau, West Virginia.

B.S., Mechanical Engineering, University of Virginia, 1993. Advisor: Jack Cosby. Thesis: Effects of gypsy moth defoliation on water and nutrient cycling in a forested ecosystem.

Professional Experience

2002-present, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
2000-2002, Postdoctoral Associate, Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY

Research Interests

I am broadly interested in the biogeochemical cycling, retention, and loss of elements in temperate forest ecosystems.  The focus of my research has been to understand how biological, hydrological, and geochemical processes interact to produce element dynamics.  My work has integrated observational studies, manipulation experiments, and modeling to elucidate the biotic and abiotic controls on the biogeochemical cycles and how these cycles respond to natural and anthropogenic disturbances.  The modeling work allows the extension of studies at individual watersheds to regional scales.

Grants

Carbon and nitrogen dynamics and retention in an agricultural ecosystem under elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide and ozone. Fitzhugh RD, VT Eviner & RT Venterea. Department of Energy, National Institute for Global Environmental Change. $452,572 (Sept 2004 to Sept 2007).

Long-term ecological research at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Fahey TJ, CT Driscoll, et al. (Fitzhugh co-PI). National Science Foundation. $4,920,000 (Sept 2004 to Sept 2010, subcontract to co-PI Fitzhugh: $130,809).

Effects of an exotic pest and geological substrate on the carbon and nitrogen dynamics in northern hardwood forests. GM Lovett, MA Arthur & RD Fitzhugh. USDA Cooperative State Research, Northeastern States Research Council. $155,442 (Oct. 2004 - Sept. 2006, subcontract to co-PI Fitzhugh: $25,000).

Genomic regulation of the response of an agroecosystem to elements of global change. EH DeLucia, RD Fitzhugh, SP Long, HJ Bohnert, & MR Berenbaum. Department of Energy.  $2,984,356 (May 2004 to May 2007).

Awards and Honors

Dean's Teaching Fellowship, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, University of Illinois, 2004-2005.
Syracuse University Graduate Fellow, 1999-2000
Hubbard Brook graduate student representative to national LTER network, 1998-2000
Phi Kappa Phi National Engineering Honor Society 

Publications

Fitzhugh RD, CT Driscoll, PM Groffman, GL Tierney, TJ Fahey & JP Hardy (2003) Soil freezing and the acid-base chemistry of soil solutions in a northern hardwood forest. Soil Science Society of America Journal 67:1897-1908.

Fitzhugh RD, GM Lovett & RT Venterea (2003) Biotic and abiotic immobilization of ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate in soils developed under different tree species in the Catskill Mountains, New York, USA.  Global Change Biology 9:1591-1601.

Dijkstra FA & RD Fitzhugh (2003) Aluminum solubility and mobility in relation to organic carbon in surface soils affected by six tree species of the northeastern United States. Geoderma 114: 33-47.

Fitzhugh RD, GE Likens, CT Driscoll, MJ Mitchell, PM Groffman, TJ Fahey, & JP Hardy (2003) The role of soil freezing events in short-term patterns of stream chemistry at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest.  Environmental Science and Technology 37: 1575-1580.

Fitzhugh RD, LM Christenson & GM Lovett (2003) The fate of ¹⁵NO₂^- tracer in soils under different tree species of the Catskill Mountains, New York. Soil Science Society of America Journal 67: 1257-1265.

Tierney GL, TJ Fahey, PM Groffman, JP Hardy, RD Fitzhugh, CT Driscoll, & JB Yavitt (2003). Environmental control of fine root dynamics in a northern hardwood forest. Global Change Biology 9: 670-679.

Fitzhugh RD, CT Driscoll, PM Groffman, TJ Fahey, GL Tierney & JP Hardy (2001) Effects of soil freezing disturbance on soil solution nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon chemistry in a northern hardwood ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 56: 215-238.

Hardy JP, PM Groffman, RD Fitzhugh, KS Henry, TA Welman, JD Demers, TJ Fahey, CT Driscoll, GL Tierney & S Nolan (2001) Snow depth manipulation and its influence on soil frost and water dynamics in a northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry 56: 151-174.

Groffman PM, CT Driscoll, TJ Fahey, JP Hardy, RD Fitzhugh & GL Tierney (2001) Effects of mild winter freezing on soil nitrogen and carbon dynamics in a northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry 56: 191-213.

Tierney GL, TJ Fahey, PM Groffman, JP Hardy, RD Fitzhugh & CT Driscoll (2001) Soil freezing alters fine root dynamics in a northern hardwood forest. Biogeochemistry 56: 175-190.

Groffman PM, CT Driscoll, TJ Fahey, JP Hardy, RD Fitzhugh & GL Tierney (2001) Colder soils in a warmer world: A snow manipulation study in a northern hardwood forest ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 56: 135-150.

Fitzhugh RD, T Furman & AK Korsak (2001) Sources of stream sulphate in headwater catchments in Otter Creek Wilderness, West Virginia, USA. Hydrological Processes 15: 541-556.

Fitzhugh RD, T Furman, JR Webb, BJ Cosby & CT Driscoll (1999) Longitudinal and seasonal patterns of stream acidity in a headwater catchment on the Appalachian Plateau, West Virginia, USA. Biogeochemistry 47: 39-62.

Groffman PM, JP Hardy, S Nolan, RD Fitzhugh, CT Driscoll & TJ Fahey (1999) Snow depth, soil frost and nutrient loss in a northern hardwood forest. Hydrological Processes 13: 2275-2286.

Manuscripts in Preparation

Eddy W, RD Fitzhugh & GM Lovett. Effects of changes in tree species composition on soil acid-base chemistry. For submission to: Soil Science Society of America Journal.

Fitzhugh RD, CT Driscoll, PM Groffman & TJ Fahey. Effects of soil freezing disturbance on soil solution aluminum chemistry in a northern hardwood ecosystem: Role of dissolved organic carbon. For submission to: Soil Science Society of America Journal.

Society Memberships

American Geophysical Union
Ecological Society of America
Soil Science Society of America

Ad hoc Reviewer

Applied Geochemistry
Biogeochemistry
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Ecosystems
Encyclopedia of Hydrological Sciences
European Journal of Soil Science
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Global Change Biology
Soil Science Society of America Journal
Water Resources Research
Wetlands