Current Research

Investigating the influence of management practices (e.g. site conversion,clearcutting, thinning, fertilization) and natural weather variability (e.g. droughts, hurricanes) on the carbon and water cycles of coastal plain loblolly pine plantations. Research also includes assessing the impact of prescribed burning on forest fuel loads and tree growth.

Education

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, M.S. Forestry 1998

Featured Publications & Products

• Noormets, Asko; Gavazzi, Michael J.; McNulty, Steve G.; Domec, Jean-Christophe; Sun, Ge; King, John S.; Chen, Jiquan. 2010. Response of carbon fluxes to drought in a coastal plain loblolly pine forest.
• Domec, J.-C.; King, J.S.; Noormets, A.; Treasure, E.; Gavazzi, M.J.; Sun, G.; McNulty, S.G. 2010. Hydraulic redistribution of soil water by roots affects whole-stand evapotranspiration and net ecosystem carbon exchange.
• Noormets, A.; Sun, G.; McNulty, S.G.; Gavazzi, M.J.; Chen, J.; Domec, J.-C.; King, J.S.; Amatya, D.M.; Skaggs, R.W. 2010. Corrigendum: Energy and water balance of two contrasting loblolly pine plantations on the lower coastal plain of North Carolina, USA Foreco 259: 1299 1310.
• Boggs, Johnny L.; McNulty, Steven G.; Gavazzi, Michael J.; Myers, Jennifer Moore. 2005. Tree growth, foliar chemistry, and nitrogen cycling across a nitrogen deposition gradient in southern Appalachian deciduous forests.
• Chojnacky, David C.; McNulty, Steven G.; Myers, Jennifer Moore; Gavazzi, Michael K. 2005. Estimating forest floor fuels in eastern U.S. forests.

Publications

• Li, Xuefeng ; Minick, Kevan ; Li, Tonghua ; Williamson, James ; Gavazzi, Michael ; McNulty, Steven ; King, John S. 2020. An improved method for quantifying total fine root decomposition in plantation forests combining measurements of soil coring and minirhizotrons with a mass balance model.
• Aguilos, Maricar ; Mitra, Bhaskar ; Noormets, Asko ; Minick, Kevan ; Prajapati, Prajaya ; Gavazzi, Michael ; Sun, Ge ; McNulty, Steve ; Li, Xuefeng ; Domec, Jean-Christophe ; Miao, Guofang ; King, John . 2020. Long-term carbon flux and balance in managed and natural coastal forested wetlands of the Southeastern USA.
• Mitra, Bhaskar ; Miao, Guofang ; Minick, Kevan ; McNulty, Steve G.; Sun, Ge ; Gavazzi, Michael ; King, John S.; Noormets, Asko . 2019. Disentangling the Effects of Temperature, Moisture, and Substrate Availability on Soil CO 2 Efflux.
• Liu, Xiaodong ; Sun, Ge ; Mitra, Bhaskar ; Noormets, Asko ; Gavazzi, Michael J.; Domec, Jean-Christophe ; Hallema, Dennis W.; Li, Jiyue ; Fang, Yuan ; King, John S.; McNulty, Steven G. 2018. Drought and thinning have limited impacts on evapotranspiration in a managed pine plantation on the southeastern United States coastal plain.
• Gavazzi, Michael; Sun, Ge; McNulty, Steve; Treasure, E.A; Wightman, M.G. 2016. Canopy rainfall interception measured over ten years in a coastal plain loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantation.
• Musavi, Talie; Migliavacca, Mirco; van de Weg, Martine Janet; Kattge, Jens; Wohlfahrt, Georg; van Bodegom, Peter M.; Reichstein, Markus; Bahn, Michael; Carrara, Arnaud; Domingues, Tomas F.; Gavazzi, Michael; Gianelle, Damiano; Gimeno, Cristina; Granier, André; Gruening, Carsten; Havránková, Kateřina; Herbst, Mathias; Hrynkiw, Charmaine; Kalhori, Aram; Kaminski, Thomas; Klumpp, Katja; Kolari, Pasi; Longdoz, Bernard; Minerbi, Stefano; Montagnani, Leonardo; Moors, Eddy; Oechel, Walter C.; Reich, Peter B.; Rohatyn, Shani; Rossi, Alessandra; Rotenberg, Eyal; Varlagin, Andrej; Wilkinson, Matthew; Wirth, Christian; Mahecha, Miguel D. 2016. Potential and limitations of inferring ecosystem photosynthetic capacity from leaf functional traits.
• Domec, Jean-Christophe; King, John S.; Ward, Eric; Oishi, A. Christopher; Palmroth, Sari; Radecki, Andrew; Bell, Dave M.; Miao, Guofang; Gavazzi, Michael; Johnson, Daniel M.; McNulty, Steve G.; Sun, Ge; Noormets, Asko. 2015. Conversion of natural forest to managed forest plantations decreases tree resistance to prolonged droughts.
• Tian, Shiying; Youssef, Mohamed A.; Sun, Ge; Chescheir, George M.; Noormets, Asko; Amatya, Devendra M.; Skaggs, R. Wayne; King, John S.; McNulty, Steve; Gavazzi, Michael; Miao, Guofang; Domec, Jean-Christophe. 2015. Testing DRAINMOD-FOREST for predicting evapotranspiration in a mid-rotation pine plantation.
• Gavazzi, M.J.; McNulty, S.G. 2014. The influence of prescribed fire and burn interval on fuel loads in four North Carolina forest ecosystems.
• Cole, Jason A.; Johnson, Kristopher D.; Birdsey, Richard A.; Pan, Yude; Wayson, Craig A.; McCullough, Kevin; Hoover, Coeli M.; Hollinger, David Y.; Bradford, John B.; Ryan, Michael G.; Kolka, Randall K.; Wieshampel, Peter; Clark, Kenneth L.; Skowronski, Nicholas S.; Hom, John; Ollinger, Scott V.; McNulty, Steven G.; Gavazzi, Michael J. 2013. Database for landscape-scale carbon monitoring sites.
• Domec, Jean-Christophe; Sun, Ge; Noormets, Asko; Gavazzi, Michael J.; Treasure, Emrys A.; Cohen, Erika; Swenson, Jennifer J.; McNulty, Steve G.; King, John S. 2012. A comparison of three methods to estimate evapotranspiration in two contrasting loblolly pine plantations: age-related changes in water use and drought sensitivity of evapotranspiration components.
• Domec, Jean-Christophe; Ogée, Jérôme; Noormets, Asko; Jouangy, Julien; Gavazzi, Michael; Treasure, Emrys; Sun, Ge; McNulty, Steve G.; King, John S. 2012. Interactive effects of nocturnal transpiration and climate change on the root hydraulic redistribution and carbon and water budgets of southern United States pine plantations.
• Noormets, Asko; Mcnulty, Steve G.; Domec, Jean-Christophe; Gavazzi, Michael; Sun, Ge; King, John S. 2012. The role of harvest residue in rotation cycle carbon balance in loblolly pine plantations.
• McNulty, Steven G.; Moore, Jennifer A.; Iverson, Louis; Prasad, Anantha; Abt, Robert; Smith, Bryan; Sun, Ge; Gavazzi, Michael; Bartlett, John; Murray, Brian; Mickler, Robert A.; Aber, John D. 2000. Application of Linked Regional Scale Growth, Biogeography, and Economic Models for Southeastern United States Pine Forests.