Christel C. Kern
Rhinelander, WI 54501-9128
United States
- Assisted migration for productive future forests
- Climate-adaptive stragegy models for forest management
- Mixedwood and mixed species forest ecology and silviculture
- Long-term effects of harvest gap size on tree regeneration and plant communities
- Long-term effects of cutting methods on old and second-growth northern hardwoods
- Restoration using fire, harvest, and mechical treatments to restore barrens, savannahs, woodlands, and forests of northern dry pine forests
- Role of microtopography in northern hardwood tree growth, regeneration, and diversity
- Role of tree microhabitats in managed forests
- Seedbank potential for restoration and adaptation of forest ecosystems
- Oregon white oak silviculture
- Fine-root dynamics of trees
- Integrated, multi-disciplinary research
- Collaborative research-management studies
- Long-term field studies
- Conventional, ecological, and adaptive silviculture
- Mesic and dry forest ecosystems
The scope of Dr. Kern's research is national to international, as the general ecological and silvicultural principles that are examined and tested are applicable globally, but the findings are also highly relevant across the Great Lakes region, where much of the research is conducted. Her research is complex and on-going, because driving factors (e.g., climate) and societal values (e.g., management objectives) continue to change, tree lifespans exceed a scientist’s career, and multiple lines and scales of investigation are required. Consequently, she must lead multiple studies with various team, disciplines, and scales to find solutions. Her collaborators include research and managers from a variety of sectors, including government agencies, universities, tribes, industry, and non-profit organizations at local, state, national, and international levels. The expected impacts of this research will advance the science of silviculture and applied forest ecology, inform policy regulations and management guides, such as environmental analysis, silvicultural handbooks, and harvest prescriptions. In addition, the work provides a diverse range of findings that are key to planning and sustaining a continuum of goods and services in managed forests globally. Dr. Kern's goal is to develop and interpret scientific data to achieve optimal results that matter to people and sustain forests and support the mission of the Forest Service.
- University of Minnesota, Ph.D., Natural Resource Science and Management, 2011
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, M.S., Natural Resources, 2000
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, B.S., Biology, 1997
- Certified Silviculturist, USDA Forest Service, Region 9, 2006 - Current
- Honorary Member, Arbeitsgemeinschaft Naturgemäße Waldwirtschaft, 2014 - Current
- Member, Society of American Foresters (SAF), 2001 - Current
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National Silviculture Excellence Award, 2022
USDA Forest Service
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Silvicultural Prize, 2018
For publication of "Challenges facing gap-based silviculture and possible solutions for mesic northern forests in North America" Forestry 90:4-17. Institute of Chartered Foresters
- Kern, Christel C.; Waskiewicz, Justin D.; Frelich, Lee ; Muñoz Delgado, Bethany L.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Clark, Kenneth L.; Kabrick, John M.. 2021. Understanding compositional stability in mixedwood forests of eastern North America
- Kern, Christel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Kuehne, Christian ; Weiskittel, Aaron R.; Kaschmitter, Sarah J.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Dey, Daniel C.; Kabrick, John M.; Palik, Brian J.; Schuler, Thomas M.. 2021. Relative influence of stand and site factors on aboveground live-tree carbon sequestration and mortality in managed and unmanaged forests
- Knapp, Samuel P.; Kern, Christel C.; Webster, Christopher R.. 2021. Harvested opening size affects cohort development and failures in a second-growth northern hardwood forest
- Kern, Christel C.; Burton, Julia I.; Raymond, Patricia; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Keeton, William S.; Royo, Alex; Walters, Michael B.; Webster, Christopher R.; Willis, John L.. 2017. Challenges facing gap-based silviculture and possible solutions for mesic northern forests in North America
- Kern, Christel C.; Schwarzmann, John ; Kabrick, John ; Gerndt, Kathryn ; Boyden, Suzanne ; Stanovick, John S.. 2019. Mounds facilitate regeneration of light-seeded and browse-sensitive tree species after moderate-severity wind disturbance
- Woods, Kerry D.; Kern, Christel C.. 2022. Intermediate disturbances drive long‐term fluctuation in old‐growth forest biomass: an 84‐yr temperate forest record
- Rogers, Nicole S.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; Bèdard, Steve. 2022. Northern hardwood silviculture at a crossroads: Sustaining a valuable resource under future change
- Westphal, Lynne ; Dockry, Michael ; Kenefic, Laura ; Sachdeva, Sonya ; Rhodeland, Amelia ; Locke, Dexter ; Kern, Christel ; Huber-Stearns, Heidi ; Coughlan, Michael R.. 2022. USDA Forest Service Employee Diversity During a Period of Workforce Contraction
- VanderMolen, Matthew S.; Knapp, Samuel P.; Webster, Christopher R.; Kern, Christel C.; Dickinson, Yvette L.. 2021. Spatial patterning of regeneration failure in experimental canopy gaps 15–24 years post-harvest
- Raymond, Patricia ; Kenefic, Laura ; Kabrick, John ; Knapp, Benjamin ; Clark, Ken ; D'Amato, Anthony ; Kern, Christel ; Vickers, Lance ; Dey, Daniel C.; Rogers, Nicole. 2021. Miser sur la régénération des conifères pour maintenir la composition mixte de forêts tempérées
- Draper, Maeve C.; Kern, Christel C.; Froese, Robert E.. 2021. Growth, yield, and financial return through six decades of various management approaches in a second-growth northern hardwood forest
- Ghanbari, Sajad ; Kern, Christel C.. 2021. Fuelwood Harvest and No Harvest Effects on Forest Composition, Structure, and Diversity of Arasbaran Forests—A Case Study
- Kern, Christel. 2021. The irregular shelterwood system: What in the World? Michigan Forests
- Kenefic, Laura S.; Kabrick, John M.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; Raymond, Patricia ; Clark, Kenneth L.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; Vickers, Lance A.; Dey, Daniel C.; Rogers, Nicole S.. 2021. Mixedwood silviculture in North America: the science and art of managing for complex, multi-species temperate forests
- Vickers, Lance A.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; Kabrick, John M.; Kenefic, Laura S.; D’Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; MacLean, David A.; Raymond, Patricia ; Clark, Kenneth L.; Dey, Daniel C.; Rogers, Nicole S.. 2021. Contemporary status, distribution, and trends of mixedwoods in the northern United States
- Ghanbari, Sajad ; Sefidi, Kiomars ; Kern, Christel C.; Álvarez-Álvarez, Pedro. 2021. Population Structure and Regeneration Status of Woody Plants in Relation to the Human Interventions, Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve, Iran
- Quigley, Kathleen M.; Kolka, Randall ; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Dickinson, Matthew B.; Kern, Christel C.; Miesel, Jessica R.. 2021. Restoring open canopy pine barrens from the ground up: Repeated burns correspond with increased soil hydraulic conductivity
- Kern, Christel ; Kenefic, Laura ; Dockry, Michael ; Cobo-Lewis, Alan. 2020. Discrimination and Career Satisfaction: Perceptions from US Forest Service Scientists
- Curzon, Miranda T.; Kern, Christel C.; Baker, Susan C.; Palik, Brian J.; D'Amato, Anthony W.. 2020. Retention forestry influences understory diversity and functional identity
- Gustafson, Eric J.; Kern, Christel C.; Miranda, Brian R.; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Bronson, Dustin R.; Kabrick, John M.. 2020. Climate adaptive silviculture strategies: How do they impact growth, yield, diversity and value in forested landscapes?
- Quigley, Kathleen M.; Kolka, Randall ; Sturtevant, Brian R.; Dickinson, Matthew B.; Kern, Christel C.; Donner, Deahn M.; Miesel, Jessica R.. 2020. Prescribed burn frequency, vegetation cover, and management legacies influence soil fertility: Implications for restoration of imperiled pine barrens habitat
- Kabrick, John M.; Clark, Kenneth L.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Delgado, Bethany L. Muñoz; Dey, Daniel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Kern, Christel C.; Keyser, Tara L.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; MacLean, David A.; Raymond, Patricia ; Schweitzer, Callie J.; Vickers, Lance A.. 2020. Research and management partnerships for resolving regeneration and recruitment challenges in hardwood-softwood mixtures in eastern North America
- Komatsu, Kimberly J.; Avolio, Meghan L.; Lemoine, Nathan P.; Isbell, Forest ; Grman, Emily ; Houseman, Gregory R.; Koerner, Sally E.; Johnson, David S.; Wilcox, Kevin R.; Alatalo, Juha M.; Anderson, John P.; Aerts, Rien ; Baer, Sara G.; Baldwin, Andrew H.; Bates, Jonathan ; Beierkuhnlein, Carl ; Belote, R. Travis; Blair, John ; Bloor, Juliette M. G.; Bohlen, Patrick J.; Bork, Edward W.; Boughton, Elizabeth H.; Bowman, William D.; Britton, Andrea J.; Cahill, James F.; Chaneton, Enrique ; Chiariello, Nona R.; Cheng, Jimin ; Collins, Scott L.; Cornelissen, J. Hans C.; Du, Guozhen ; Eskelinen, Anu ; Firn, Jennifer ; Foster, Bryan ; Gough, Laura ; Gross, Katherine ; Hallett, Lauren M.; Han, Xingguo ; Harmens, Harry ; Hovenden, Mark J.; Jagerbrand, Annika ; Jentsch, Anke ; Kern, Christel ; Klanderud, Kari ; Knapp, Alan K.; Kreyling, Juergen ; Li, Wei ; Luo, Yiqi ; McCulley, Rebecca L.; McLaren, Jennie R.; Megonigal, J. Patrick; Morgan, John W.; Onipchenko, Vladimir ; Pennings, Steven C.; Prevéy, Janet S.; Price, Jodi N.; Reich, Peter B.; Robinson, Clare H.; Russell, F. Leland; Sala, Osvaldo E.; Seabloom, Eric W.; Smith, Melinda D.; Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A.; Souza, Lara ; Suding, Katherine ; Suttle, K. Blake; Svejcar, Tony ; Tilman, David ; Tognetti, Pedro ; Turkington, Roy ; White, Shannon ; Xu, Zhuwen ; Yahdjian, Laura ; Yu, Qiang ; Zhang, Pengfei ; Zhang, Yunhai. 2019. Global change effects on plant communities are magnified by time and the number of global change factors imposed
- Bassil, Sarita ; Nyland, Ralph D.; Kern, Christel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.. 2019. Dynamics of the diameter distribution after selection cutting in uneven- and even-aged northern hardwood stands: a long-term evaluation
- Knapp, Samuel P.; Webster, Christopher R.; Kern, Christel C.. 2019. The Composition and Height of Saplings Capturing Silvicultural Gaps at Two Long-Term Experiments in Managed Northern Hardwood Forests
- Quigley, K.M. ; Wildt, R.E. ; Sturtevant, B.R. ; Kolka, R.K. ; Dickinson, M.B. ; Kern, C.C. ; Donner, D.M. ; Miesel, J.R.. 2019. Fuels, vegetation, and prescribed fire dynamics influence ash production and characteristics in a diverse landscape under active pine barrens restoration
- Vickers, Lance ; McWilliams, William ; Knapp, Benjamin ; D’Amato, Anthony ; Dey, Daniel ; Dickinson, Yvette ; Kabrick, John ; Kenefic, Laura ; Kern, Christel ; Larsen, David ; Royo, Alejandro ; Saunders, Michael ; Shifley, Stephen ; Westfall, James A.. 2019. Are Current Seedling Demographics Poised to Regenerate Northern US Forests?
- Knapp, Samuel P.; Webster, Christopher R.; Kern, Christel C.. 2019. Can group selection with legacy retention change compositional trajectories in conventionally managed hardwoods?
- Reuling, Laura F.; Kern, Christel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Bronson, Dustin R.. 2019. The Northern White-Cedar Recruitment Bottleneck: Understanding the Effects of Substrate, Competition, and Deer Browsing
- Webster, Christopher R.; Dickinson, Yvette L.; Burton, Julia I; Frelich, Lee E.; Jenkins, Michael A.; Kern, Christel C.; Raymond, Patricia ; Saunders, Michael R.; Walters, Michael B.; Willis, John L.. 2018. Promoting and maintaining diversity in contemporary hardwood forests: Confronting contemporary drivers of change and the loss of ecological memory
- Fahey, Robert T.; Alveshere, Brandon C.; Burton, Julia I; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Dickinson, Yvette L.; Keeton, William S.; Kern, Christel C.; Larson, Andrew J.; Palik, Brian J.; Puettmann, Klaus J.; Saunders, Michael R.; Webster, Christopher R.; Atkins, Jeff W.; Gough, Christopher M.; Hardiman, Brady S.. 2018. Shifting conceptions of complexity in forest management and silviculture
- James, Joshua A.; Kern, Christel C.; Miesel, Jessica R.. 2018. Legacy effects of prescribed fire season and frequency on soil properties in a <em>Pinus resinosa</em> forest in northern Minnesota
- Hupperts, Stefan ; Dickinson, Yvette ; Webster, Christopher ; Kern, Christel C.. 2018. Promoting structural and species diversity in Great Lakes northern hardwoods: a conceptual model and its application
- Scherer, Sawyer S.; Kern, Christel C.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J.; Russell, Matthew R.. 2018. Long-term pine regeneration, shrub layer dynamics, and understory community composition responses to repeated prescribed fire in <em>Pinus resinosa</em> forests
- McWilliams, William H.; Westfall, James A.; Brose, Patrick H.; Dey, Daniel C.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Dickinson, Yvette L.; Fajvan, Mary Ann; Kenefic, Laura S.; Kern, Christel C.; Laustsen, Kenneth M.; Lehman, Shawn L.; Morin, Randall S.; Ristau, Todd E.; Royo, Alejandro A.; Stoltman, Andrew M.; Stout, Susan L.. 2018. Subcontinental-scale patterns of large-ungulate herbivory and synoptic review of restoration management implications for midwestern and northeastern forests
- Kubiske, Mark ; Woodall, Christopher ; Kern, Christel C.. 2018. Increasing Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Concentration Stand Development in Trembling Aspen Forests: Are Outdated Density Management Guidelines in Need of Revision for All Species?
- Wilcox, Kevin R.; Tredennick, Andrew T.; Koerner, Sally E.; Grman, Emily; Hallett, Lauren M.; Avolio, Meghan L.; La Pierre, Kimberly J.; Houseman, Gregory R.; Isbell, Forest; Johnson, David Samuel; Alatalo, Juha M.; Baldwin, Andrew H.; Bork, Edward W.; Boughton, Elizabeth H.; Bowman, William D.; Britton, Andrea J.; Cahill, James F.; Collins, Scott L.; Du, Guozhen; Eskelinen, Anu; Gough, Laura; Jentsch, Anke; Kern, Christel; Klanderud, Kari; Knapp, Alan K.; Kreyling, Juergen; Luo, Yiqi; McLaren, Jennie R.; Megonigal, Patrick; Onipchenko, Vladimir; Prevéy, Janet; Price, Jodi N.; Robinson, Clare H.; Sala, Osvaldo E.; Smith, Melinda D.; Soudzilovskaia, Nadejda A.; Souza, Lara; Tilman, David; White, Shannon R.; Xu, Zhuwen; Yahdjian, Laura; Yu, Qiang; Zhang, Pengfei; Zhang, Yunhai; Gurevitch, Jessica. 2017. Asynchrony among local communities stabilises ecosystem function of metacommunities
- Bottero, Alessandra ; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J.; Kern, Christel C.; Bradford, John B.; Scherer, Sawyer S.. 2017. Influence of Repeated Prescribed Fire on Tree Growth and Mortality in <em>Pinus resinosa</em> Forests, Northern Minnesota
- Curzon, Miranda ; Baker, Susan ; Kern, Christel ; Palik, Brian ; D'Amato, Anthony. 2017. Influence of Mature Overstory Trees on Adjacent 12-Year Regeneration and the Woody Understory: Aggregated Retention versus Intact Forest
- Roberts, Margaret W.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; Palik, Brian J.. 2017. Effects of variable retention harvesting on natural tree regeneration in <em>Pinus resinosa</em> (red pine) forests
- Gleason, Kelly E.; Bradford, John B.; Bottero, Alessandra; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Fraver, Shawn; Palik, Brian J.; Battaglia, Michael A.; Iverson, Louis; Kenefic, Laura; Kern, Christel C.. 2017. Competition amplifies drought stress in forests across broad climatic and compositional gradients
- Kabrick, John M.; Clark, Kenneth L.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Dey, Daniel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Kern, Christel C.; Knapp, Benjamin O.; MacLean, David A.; Raymond, Patricia; Waskiewicz, Justin D.. 2017. Managing hardwood-softwood mixtures for future forests in eastern North America: assessing suitability to projected climate change
- Young, Brian D.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; Kastendick, Douglas N.; Palik, Brian J.. 2017. Seven decades of change in forest structure and composition in <em>Pinus resinosa</em> forests in northern Minnesota, USA: Comparing managed and unmanaged conditions
- Kern, Christel C.; Schoelch, Manfred; Crocker, Paul; Fellman, Dean; Marsh, Angela; Mausel, Dave; Pecore, Marshall; Phillippi, Joseph; Waukau, Ronald; Waupochick, Anthony. 2017. Group opening outcomes, sustainable forest management, and the Menominee Nation lands
- Scherer, Sawyer S.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; Palik, Brian J.; Russell, Matthew B.. 2016. Long-term impacts of prescribed fire on stand structure, growth, mortality, and individual tree vigor in <em>Pinus resinosa</em> forests
- Roberts, Margaret W.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Kern, Christel C.; Palik, Brian J.; Marini, Lorenzo. 2016. Long-term impacts of variable retention harvesting on ground-layer plant communities in <em>Pinus resinosa</em> forests
- Baker, Susan C.; Halpern, Charles B.; Wardlaw, Timothy J.; Kern, Christel; Edgar, Graham J.; Thomson, Russell J.; Bigley, Richard E.; Franklin, Jerry F.; Gandhi, Kamal J. K.; Gustafsson, Lena; Johnson, Samuel; Palik, Brian J.; Spies, Thomas A.; Steel, E. Ashley; Weslien, Jan; Strengbom, Joachim. 2016. A cross-continental comparison of plant and beetle responses to retention of forest patches during timber harvest
- Kenefic, Laura S.; Kern, Christel C.. 2015. Early northern hardwood silvicultural research at the Dukes Experimental Forest, Michigan
- Kern, Christel C.; Kenefic, Laura S.; Stout, Susan L.. 2015. Bridging the Gender Gap: The demographics of scientists in the USDA Forest Service and academia
- Kern, Christel C.; Montgomery, Rebecca A.; Reich, Peter B.; Strong, Terry F.. 2014. Harvest-created canopy gaps increase species and functional trait diversity of the forest ground-layer community
- Kern, Christel; Erdmann, Gus; Kenefic, Laura; Palik, Brian; Strong, Terry. 2014. Development of the selection system in northern hardwood forests of the Lake States: an 80-year silviculture research legacy
- Kenefic, Laura S.; Kern, Christel C.. 2013. The remarkable story of the partial cutting study at the Dukes Experimental Forest
- Kern, Christel C.; D’Amato, Anthony W.; Strong, Terry F.. 2013. Diversifying the composition and structure of managed late-successional forests with harvest gaps: What is the optimal gap size?
- Kenefic, Laura S.; Kern, Christel C.; Brissette, John; Russell, Matthew; Irland, Lloyd; Weiskittel, Aaron; Berven, Kate. 2013. Suggestions for maintaining records for long-term field studies. A supplement to papers by Berven et al. and Kenefic and Kern (this volume)
- Kern, Christel C.; Montgomery, Rebecca A.; Reich, Peter B.; Strong, Terry F.. 2013. Canopy gap size influences niche partitioning of the ground-layer plant community in a northern temperate forest
- Kern, Cristel C.; Reich, Peter B.; Montgomery, Rebecca A.; Strong, Terry F.. 2012. Do deer and shrubs override canopy gap size effects on growth and survival of yellow birch, northern red oak, eastern white pine, and eastern hemlock seedlings?
- Ostry, M.E.; Moore, M.J.; Kern, C.C.; Venette, R.C.; Palik, B.J.. 2012. Multiple diseases impact survival of pine species planted in red spine stands harvested in spatially variable retention patterns
- Kern, Christel C.. 2012. Values and limitations of applied science in the real world [book review]
- D'Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J.; Kern, Christel C.. 2010. Growth, yield, and structure of extended rotation <i>Pinus resinosa</i> stands in Minnesota, USA
- Lugo, Ariel D.; Swanson, Frederick J.; González, Olga Ramos; Adams, Mary Beth; Palik, Brian; Thill, Ronald E.; Brockway, Dale G.; Kern, Christel; Woodsmith, Richard; Musselman, Robert. 2006. Long-term research at the USDA Forest Service's experimental forests and ranges.
- Kern, Cristel C.; Palik, Brian J.; Strong, Terry F.. 2006. Ground-layer plant community responses to even-age and uneven-age silvicultural treatments in Wisconsin northern hardwood forests
- Palik, Brian J.; Kern, Christel C.; Mitchell, Robert; Pecot, Stephen. 2005. Using spatially variable overstory retention to restore structural and compositional complexity in pine ecosystems
- Palik, Brian J.; Batzer, Darold P.; Kern, Christel. 2005. Upland Forest Linkages to Seasonal Wetlands: Litter Flux, Processing, and Food Quality
- Kern, Christel C.; Friend, Alexander L.; Johnson, Jane M.; Coleman, Mark D.. 2004. Fine root dynamics in a developing <i>Populus deltoides</i> plantation
- Coleman, Mark D.; Kern, Christel C.. 2004. Carbon allocation and nitrogen acquisition in a developing <i>Populus deltoides</i> plantation
- Kern, Christel C.; Johnson, Jane M.-F.; Coleman, Mark D.. 2004. Fine root dynamics in a developing <i>Populus deltoides</i> plantation
- Coleman, Mark D.; Kern, Christel C.. 2004. Carbon allocation and nitrogen acquisition in a developing <i>Populus deltoides</i> plantation
- Harrington, Constance A.; Kern, Christel C.. 2002. Will Garry oak respond to release from overtopping conifers

Tribal forestry and western science come together to sustain forests for future generations

Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration alters forest stand development, so do management guidelines need revision?
