Northern Research Station

Research Biological Scientist Katherine Heckman leads the Radiocarbon Collaborative, a research initiative sponsored by the Northern Research Station. Her work assists researchers in radiocarbon analysis, and these datasets are used to address climate change and carbon cycling. This research dives into elusive carbon models to better understand carbon stored within organic soils.

Pine barren ecosystems once covered millions of acres across the Great Lakes Region. Today, just a few thousand acres, or less than 1%, remain. Historically shaped by frequent wildfires, pine barrens are found in areas with sandy, nutrient-poor soils, and are defined by a diverse savanna-like plant community characterized by grasses, herbs, and low shrubs, like wild blueberries and sweet fern, below a scattered canopy of pine trees.

Patches of forest dotting the urban landscape are easy to take for granted. These are forests at their most informal: natural areas within a city reflecting different ownerships and varying degrees of health, use and stewardship. Nevertheless, encountering nature in a forest patch can be as powerful an experience as visiting a national park.