Current Research

My research explores (1) fire severity and postfire treatment effects on soil microbial communities in ponderosa pine forests, and (2) biological and functional diversity of mycorrhizal communities in mixed conifer forests with impending climate change.

Research Interests

• Forest fungi and soil microbes
• Impacts of fire, disturbance, and impending climate change on belowground ecosystems
• Microbial interactions with native and nonnative plant species

Past Research

Microbial and plant recovery in severely burned soils, response of soil fungi to restoration thinning and prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forests, and diversity of fungi in old-growth and young managed stands of Douglas-fir.

Why This Research is Important

How an ecosystem recovers aboveground after disturbance, like wildfire or management treatments, is directly linked to the survival of mycorrhizal fungi and other microorganisms belowground. Soil microbes are responsible for the complex soil biological and chemical processes that determine aboveground structure, and directly impact tree health and forest recovery. My research aims to further understanding of how forest fungi and soil microbes respond to fire, management disturbances, and impending climate change. My research projects are developed in response to the concerns of forest and resource managers with the intention of using the study results to speed the forest recovery process.

Education

• Oregon State University, Ph.D. Botany & Plant Pathology 2004
• Oregon State University, M.S. Forest Ecology 1993
• Humboldt State University, B.A. Botany 1982

Featured Publications & Products

• Jennings, Tara N.; Smith, Jane E.; Cromack, Kermit, Jr..; Sulzman, Elizabeth W.; McKay, Donaraye; Caldwell, Bruce A.; Beldin, Sarah I. 2012. Impact of postfire logging on soil bacterial and fungal communities and soil biogeochemistry in a mixed-conifer forest in central Oregon.
• Hebel, Cassie L.; Smith, Jane E.; Cromack, Kermit, Jr. 2009. Invasive plant species and soil microbial response to wildfire burn severity in the Cascade Range of Oregon.
• Smith, Jane E.; McKay, Donaraye; Brenner, Greg; McIver, Jim; Spatafora, Joseph W. 2005. Early impacts of forest restoration treatments on the ectomycorrhizal fungal community and fine root biomass in a mixed conifer forest..
• Kluber, Laurel A.; Smith, Jane E.; Myrold, David D. 2011. Distinctive fungal and bacterial communities are associated with mats formed by ectomycorrhizal fungi.
• Regvar, Marjana; Likar, Matevz; Piltaver, Andrej; Kugonic, Nives; Smith, Jane E. 2010. Fungal community structure under goat willows (Salix caprea L.) growing at metal polluted site: the potential of screening in a model phytostabilisation study.
• Trappe, James M.; Molina, Randy; Luoma, Daniel L.; Cázares, Efren; Pilz, David; Smith, Jane E.; Castellano, Michael A.; Miller, Steven L.; Trappe, Matthew J. 2009. Diversity, ecology, and conservation of truffle fungi in forests of the Pacific Northwest.
• Smith, Jane E.; Kluber, Laurel A.; Jennings, Tara N.; McKay, Donaraye; Brenner, Greg; Sulzman, Elizabeth W. 2017. Does the presence of large down wood at the time of a forest fire impact soil recovery.
• Cowan, Ariel D.; Smith, Jane E.; Fitzgerald, Stephen A. 2016. Recovering lost ground: effects of soil burn intensity on nutrients and ectomycorrhiza communities of ponderosa pine seedlings.
• Reazin, C.; Morris, S.; Smith, Jane; Cowan, A.D.; Jumpponen, A. 2016. Fires of differing intensities rapidly select distinct soil fungal communities in a Northwest US ponderosa pine forest ecosystem.

Publications

• Hart, Benjamin T.N.; Smith, Jane E.; Luoma, Daniel L.; Hatten, Jeff A. 2018. Recovery of ectomycorrhizal fungus communities fifteen years after fuels reduction treatments in ponderosa pine forests of the Blue Mountains, Oregon.
• Watts, Andrea ; Smith, Jane E.; Cowan, Ariel D.; Jumpponen, Ari . 2018. The recovery of soil fungi following a fire.
• Garcia, Maria O.; Smith, Jane E.; Luoma, Daniel L.; Jones, Melanie D. 2016. Ectomycorrhizal communities of ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine in the south-central Oregon pumice zone.
• Hobbie, Erik A.; Rice, Samuel F.; Weber, Nancy S.; Smith, Jane E. 2016. Isotopic evidence indicates saprotrophy in post-fire Morchella in Oregon and Alaska.
• Smith, Jane E.; Cowan, Ariel D.; Fitzgerald, Stephen A. 2016. Soil heating during the complete combustion of mega-logs and broadcast burning in central Oregon USA pumice soils.
• Smith, Jane; Kluber, Laurel; Parks, Noreen. 2014. Nutritional hotspots and the secret life of forests.
• Lilleskov, Erik; Callaham, Jr. Mac A.; Pouyat, Richard; Smith, Jane E.; Castellano, Michael; Gonzalez, Grizelle; Lodge, D. Jean; Arango, Rachel; Green, Frederick. 2010. Invasive soil organisms and their effects on belowground processes.
• Oliver, Marie; Smith, Jane; Hebel, Cassie. 2010. Red but not dead: examining microbial and plant recovery in severely burned soils.
• Oliver, Marie; Molina, Randy; Smith, Jane E. . 2009. Ties that bind: Pacific Northwest truffles, trees, and animals in symbiosis.
• Pilz, David; McLain, Rebecca; Alexander, Susan; Villarreal-Ruiz, Luis; Berch, Shannon; Wurtz, Tricia L.; Parks, Catherine G.; McFarlane, Erika; Baker, Blaze; Molina, Randy; Smith, Jane E. 2007. Ecology and management of morels harvested from the forests of western North America..
• Fujimura, K.E.; Smith, J.E.; Horton, T.R.; Weber, N.S.; Spatafora, J.W. 2005. Pezizalean mycorrhizas and sporocarps in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) after prescribed fires in eastern Oregon, USA..
• Smith, J.E.; McKay, D.; Niwa, C.G.; Thies, W.G.; Brenner, G.; Spatafora, J.W. 2004. Short-term effects of seasonal prescribed burning on the ectomycorrhizal fungal community and fine root biomass in ponderosa pine stands in the Blue Mountains of Oregon..
• Smith, J.E.; Molina, R.; Huso, M.M.P.; Luoma, D.L.; McKay, D.; Castellano, M.A.; Lebel, T.; Valachovic, Y. 2002. Species richness, abundance, and composition of hypogeous and epigeous ectomycorrhizal fungal sporocarps in young, rotation-age, and old-growth stands of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Cascade Range of Oregon, U.S.A..
• Molina, R.; Pilz, D.; Smith, J.; Dunham, S.; Dreisbach, T.; O’Dell, T.; Castellano, M. 2001. Conservation and management of forest fungi in the Pacific Northwestern United States: an integrated ecosystem approach..
• Smith, J.E.; Molina, R.; Huso, M.M.P.; Larsen, M.J. 2000. Occurrence of Piloderma fallax in young, rotationage, and old-growth stands of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Cascade Range of Oregon, U.S.A..
• Castellano, Michael A.; Smith, Jane E.; O'Dell, Thom; Cázares, Efrén; Nugent, Susan. 1999. Handbook to strategy 1 fungal taxa from the Northwest Forest Plan..

Citations of non US Forest Service Publications

• Stowers, M.D.; Smith, J.E. 1985. Inoculation and production of container-growh red alder seedlings. Plant and Soil. 87: 153–160

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
PNW-2014-195	Multi-host Fungi May Facilitate Migrations of Pine Species with Climate Change Mycorrhizal fungi networks provide conduits for nutrient exchange between tree species. In an assisted migration management approach, mycorrhiza ...	2014
PNW-2017-192	Quantifying fire effects on soil Severe heating alters soil microbial communities and soil chemistry, slowing recovery of vegetation.	2017
PNW-2012-19	Scientists Study the Effects of Harvesting Fire-Killed Trees Findings help land managers fine tune their post-fire treatments to speed forest recovery process	2012
PNW-2018-8	Soil fungi, key to forest health, are resilient to restoration thinning and prescribed fire Results from a 15-year study in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregondemonstrate the resiliency of these forests to disturbances associated with ...	2018