Meet Tyler L. Anthony

Dissertation Title

Quantification and Dynamics of Soil Carbon and Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Managed Peatland Ecosystems

Image of Tyler L. Anthony
Automated chambers installed in a irrigated alfalfa system to quantify the net ecosystem greenhouse gas budgets of other land uses in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

A little more about Tyler L. Anthony:

I am a soil biogeochemist who is generally interested in understanding the drivers of soil carbon storage and loss and pathways of greenhouse gas production and consumption, particularly nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O) and methane (CH<sub>4</sub>), in managed ecosystems. My research is currently focused on soil carbon, redox-active iron cycling, and greenhouse gas dynamics in both agricultural and restored peatland ecosystems with field sites throughout the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California. My dissertation research has used a combination of extensive soil sampling campaigns, stable isotope pool dilution experiments, and continuous, long-term greenhouse gas measurements to explore these topics and generate more accurate and complete greenhouse gas budgets for these agricultural peatlands. My findings highlight that redox active Fe cycling may be a significant pathway of carbon loss even in carbon-rich peatland soils, and that fertilized agricultural peatlands are one of the largest potential sources of N<sub>2</sub>O emissions. My dissertation research also utilized targeted stable isotope experiments to constrain the production and consumption pathways of N<sub>2</sub>O and CH<sub>4</sub>across peatland ecosystems to better understand the controls on net N<sub>2</sub>O and CH<sub>4</sub> emissions. My career goals include continuing to study biogeochemical pathways of carbon and nitrogen to conduct solutions-based research that informs sustainable, climate-friendly, and productive land management strategies.

Automated chambers installed in a irrigated alfalfa system to quantify the net ecosystem greenhouse gas budgets of other land uses in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Acknowledgment by Tyler:

I am thankful for my advisor, Whendee Silver and my fellow Silver Lab members for the support and community that has fostered my scientific career. I would also like to thank the many members of the Berkeley Biometeorology Lab, without their support and feedback my research would not be where it is today. Last but not least, I would like to thank my friends, family and especially my wife Rose for their unwavering support throughout this PhD journey, I could not have done it without you!

Research Funded By:

– California Department of Water Resources
– California Sea Grant Delta Science Fellowship: Delta Stewardship Council and California Sea Grant
– Meek, Carolyn Memorial Scholarship
– James P. Bennett Agricultural Fund Scholarship

Image gallery of Tyler L Anthony’s Work:

Automated greenhouse gas flux chambers installed during winter flooding event in a fallow corn field in a drained peatland soil. These flooding events stimulated hot moments of N<sub>2</sub>O and CH<sub>4</sub> emission.
Automated greenhouse gas flux chambers installed during winter flooding event in a fallow corn field in a drained peatland soil. These flooding events stimulated hot moments of N<sub>2</sub>O and CH<sub>4</sub> emission.
Tyler collecting samples for his soil sampling campaign to explore mineralogical associations with soil carbon in drained and reflooded wetland soils.
Tyler collecting samples for his soil sampling campaign to explore mineralogical associations with soil carbon in drained and reflooded wetland soils.
 An automated greenhouse gas flux chamber used to continuously quantify emissions from growing corn in a drained peatland soil.
 An automated greenhouse gas flux chamber used to continuously quantify emissions from growing corn in a drained peatland soil.
Automated greenhouse gas flux chambers installed shortly after corn planting in a drained peatland soil.
Automated greenhouse gas flux chambers installed shortly after corn planting in a drained peatland soil.
Automated greenhouse gas flux chambers installed during winter flooding event in a fallow corn field in a Incubation jars in the lab. Soils were added to these along with isotopically-labelled N<sub>2</sub>O and CH<sub>4</sub> to quantify both the production and consumption pathways of these greenhouse gases.