faculty

Serita Frey

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Professor
Serita Frey
Contact
Serita.Frey@unh.edu
James Hall, Room 172, Durham, NH 03824
(603) 862-3880

faculty Bio

The research in my lab focuses on how human activities are impacting terrestrial ecosystems, with an emphasis on soil biota and nutrient cycling processes. We are specifically interested in how anthropogenic stressors (e.g., climate change, nitrogen deposition, agricultural management, invasive species) affect the composition and diversity of soil microbial communities and microbial-mediated carbon and nitrogen cycles. We work at the interface between ecosystem science, microbial ecology and soil science, combining microbiological methods with stable isotope analysis and a variety of soil physical and chemical approaches to examine structure-function linkages.

Faculty Award Winner

Award Type:  Outstanding Associate Professor Award
Year:  2011

Courses Taught

  • NR 400: Professional Perspective NR
  • NR 501: Studio Soils
  • NR 706/806: Soil Ecology
  • NR 791: Preparation for Capstone
  • NR 993: Sem/Anti-Racism in Science

Education

  • Ph.D., Ecology, Colorado State University
  • M.S., Environmental Science, University of Virginia
  • B.A., Environmental Science, University of Virginia

Selected Publications

  • San Román, A. X., Frey, S. D., Knorr, M. A., Tong, H., Melillo, J. M., & Simpson, M. J. (2026). Three decades of continuous warming in temperate forests destabilizes persistent forms of soil organic matter.. Sci Total Environ, 1029, 181777. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2026.181777

  • Knorr, M. A., Contosta, A. R., Morrison, E. W., Muratore, T. J., Anthony, M. A., Stoica, I., . . . Frey, S. D. (2024). Unexpected sustained soil carbon flux in response to simultaneous warming and nitrogen enrichment compared with single factors alone.. Nat Ecol Evol, 8(12), 2277-2285. doi:10.1038/s41559-024-02546-x

  • Geyer, K. M., Kyker-Snowman, E., Grandy, A. S., & Frey, S. D. (2016). Microbial carbon use efficiency: accounting for population, community, and ecosystem-scale controls over the fate of metabolized organic matter. BIOGEOCHEMISTRY, 127(2-3), 173-188. doi:10.1007/s10533-016-0191-y

  • Burd, A. B., Frey, S., Cabre, A., Ito, T., Levine, N. M., Lonborg, C., . . . Zeng, N. (2016). Terrestrial and marine perspectives on modeling organic matter degradation pathways. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 22(1), 121-136. doi:10.1111/gcb.12987

  • Kallenbach, C. M., Grandy, A. S., Frey, S. D., & Diefendorf, A. F. (2015). Microbial physiology and necromass regulate agricultural soil carbon accumulation. SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY, 91, 279-290. doi:10.1016/j.soilbio.2015.09.005

  • Conant, R. T., Ryan, M. G., Agren, G. I., Birge, H. E., Davidson, E. A., Eliasson, P. E., . . . Bradford, M. A. (2011). Temperature and soil organic matter decomposition rates - synthesis of current knowledge and a way forward. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 17(11), 3392-3404. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02496.x

  • Angelopoulos, V., Sibeck, D., Carlson, C. W., McFadden, J. P., Larson, D., Lin, R. P., . . . Sigwarth, J. (2008). First Results from the THEMIS Mission. SPACE SCIENCE REVIEWS, 141(1-4), 453-476. doi:10.1007/s11214-008-9378-4

  • Sinsabaugh, R. L., Lauber, C. L., Weintraub, M. N., Ahmed, B., Allison, S. D., Crenshaw, C., . . . Zeglin, L. H. (2008). Stoichiometry of soil enzyme activity at global scale. ECOLOGY LETTERS, 11(11), 1252-1264. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2008.01245.x

  • Six, J., Frey, S. D., Thiet, R. K., & Batten, K. M. (2006). Bacterial and fungal contributions to carbon sequestration in agroecosystems. SOIL SCIENCE SOCIETY OF AMERICA JOURNAL, 70(2), 555-569. doi:10.2136/sssaj2004.0347

  • Knorr, M., Frey, S. D., & Curtis, P. S. (2005). Nitrogen additions and litter decomposition: A meta-analysis. ECOLOGY, 86(12), 3252-3257. doi:10.1890/05-0150