• Associate Professor, Natural Resources; Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space

Research

Dr. Hurtt is interested in the theory and application of community and ecosystem ecology. His primary approach is to combine mathematics and data to develop models for understanding and predicting the structure and dynamics of ecological systems. He has published on a wide range of topics including: the role of dispersal in the dynamics and structure of plant communities, latitudinal and elevational gradients in biodiversity, and ocean and terrestrial ecosystem models for use in studies of the global carbon cycle and global climate change. Current research is focused on the development and application of mathematical models to address issues such as: the sustainability of land-use practices, the effects of disturbances on ecosystem structure and function, and interactions between the biosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Dr. Hurtt is involved in several collaborative research projects including the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in South America, the North American Carbon Program, and efforts to develop global carbon system and land surface models using NASA’s Earth Observing System. He is a coauthor and scientific spokesperson for the New England Regional Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, a lead author of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, and has testified to both the New Hampshire Legislature and U.S. Congress on the science of global change.

Dr. Hurtt teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate level. His introductory course Global Biological Change investigates major biological changes on the planet and engages over 100 students per year. His advanced course Earth System Science was developed with NASA support to provide a new approach to the subject and is described in a publication in the Journal of Geoscience Education. Dr. Hurtt directs Research & Discover, a multi-year internship/fellowship program that has attracted and supported literally dozens of science students. He was the founding chairperson of the UNH Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Symposium, an editor of the international journal Ecology Letters, and is a contributing faculty member of Faculty of 1000. He was recognized as a University Outreach Scholar in 2004.

Graduate Students

M.S. Students
	Katelyn Dolan
Ph.D. Students
	Justin Fisk
Alumni :: 2004-present
	Robert Thomas	September 2007	M.S.
	Michael Palace	December 2006	Ph.D
	Mariya Schilz	September 2006	M.S.
	Carolyn Girod	September 2005	M.S.
	Manoel Cardoso	September 2004	Ph.D.

Primary Teaching Responsibilities

• NR 415/415H: Global Biological Change
• NR 444: How to Change the World: Engaging Students & Community Partners in Collaborative Research
• NR 767/867: Earth System Science

View Natural Resources undergraduate course descriptions
View Natural Resources graduate course descriptions

Selected Publications

Hurtt GC, Wake C, Wawrzeniak T, Frappier A, Girod C, Seidel L, Salomonson V. (2006) Broadening students horizons: the development, delivery, and assessment of a new course in Earth System Science. Journal of Geoscience Education 54(3): 329-338.

Hurtt GC, Frolking S, Fearon MG, Moore III B, Shevliakova E, Malyshev S, Pacala SW, Houghton RA. (2006) The underpinnings of land-use history: three centuries of global gridded land-use transitions, wood harvest activity, and resulting secondary lands. Global Change Biology 12:1208-1229, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01150.x

Cardoso M, Hurtt GC, Nobre C, Moore B, Bain H. (2005) Field work and statistical analyses for the enhanced interpretation of satellite fire data. Remote Sensing of Environment 96: 212-227.

Hurtt GC, Dubayah R, Drake J, Moorcroft P, Pacala S, Fearon M. (2004) Beyond potential vegetation: combining lidar remote sensing and a height- structured ecosystem model for improved estimates of carbon stocks and fluxes. Ecological Applications 14(3): 873-883.

Purves D, Caspersen J, Moorcroft P, Hurtt G, Pacala S. (2004) Human-induced changes in U.S. biogenic VOC emissions. Global Change Biology 10:1737-1755, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2004.00844.x.

Roy SB, Hurtt GC, Weaver CP, Pacala SW. (2003) Impact of historical land cover change on the July climate of the United States. Journal of Geophysical Research 108, D24, 4793, doi:10.1029/2003JD003565.

Hurtt GC, Xiao X, Keller M, Palace M, Asner G, Braswell R, Brondizio E, Cardoso M, Carvalho C, Fearon M, Guild L, Hagen S, Moore B, Nobre C, Sá T, Schloss A, Vourlitis G, Wickel A. (2003) IKONOS Imagery for the Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA). Remote Sensing of Environment 88(1-2): 111-127.

Cardoso M, Hurtt GC, Moore B, Nobre C, Prins E. (2003) Projecting future fire activity in Amazonia. Global Change Biology 9: 656-669.

Hurtt GC, Pacala SW, Moorcroft PR, Caspersen J, Shevliakova E, Houghton R, Moore B. (2002) Projecting the future of the US carbon sink. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (PNAS) 99(3): 1389-1394.

Moorcroft PR, Hurtt GC, Pacala SW. (2001) A method for scaling vegetation dynamics: the ecosystem demography model (ED). Ecological Monographs 71(4): 557-585.

Keller M, Palace M, Hurtt GC. (2001) A biomass estimate for a 400 ha forest plot in Amazonia. Forest Ecology and Management. 154(3):371-382.

Hurtt GC, Rosentrater L, Frolking S., Moore B. (2001) Linking remote-sensing estimates of land cover and census statistics on land use to produce maps of land use of the conterminous United States. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15(3): 673-685.

Hurtt GC, Hale S. (2001) Future climates of the New England Region. Ch 4 In: Preparing for a Changing Climate: The New England Regional Assessment Overview (by New EnglandRegional Assessment Group). US Global Change Research Program. 96 pp. University of New Hampshire.

Pacala SW, Hurtt GC, Baker D, Peylin P, Houghton RA, Birdsey RA, Heath L, Sundquist ET, Stallard RF, Ciais P, Moocroft P, Caspersen JP, Shevliakova E, Moore B, Kohlmaier G, Holland E, Gloor M, Harmon ME, Fan SM, Sarmiento JL, Goodale CL, Schimel D, Field CB. (2001) Consistent land- and atmosphere-based US carbon sink estimates. Science 292:2316-2320.

Caspersen J, Pacala SW, Jenkins JC, Hurtt GC, Moorcroft PR, Birdsey RA (2000). Contributionsof land-use history to carbon accumulation in US forests. Science 290 (5494): 1148-1151.

Education

Selected Service Activities

• Chair, Undergraduate Research Conference, EOS Symposium
• Member, Climate Education Initiative Working Group
• Member, Executive Committee, Natural Resources and Earth System Science PhD Program
• Member, Biodiversity Education Initiative Working Group
• Member, Environmental Science Planning Committee
• Member, Maine Dept. of Env. Protection Science and Economic Policy Resource Panel
• Invited Speaker, National Research Council, Washington, DC
• Editor, Ecology Letters
• Director, Research & Discover, a joint NASA-UNH Educational Initiative
• Member, NASA Review Panel
• Co-Chair, Synthetic analyses of large-scale ecological processes, AGU Meeting
• Member, USGS/NOAA/GFDL Land Model Development Team
• Invited Testimony, NH House Science Technology and Environment Committee
• Invited Panelist, US Congressional Briefing