Peter J. Weisberg

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science

University of Nevada, Reno, MS 186

1000 Valley Rd., Reno, Nevada 89512

phone: 775-784-7573; fax: 775-784-4583; email: pweisberg@cabnr.unr.edu

Education

1998                   Ph.D.                Forest Ecology              Oregon State University, Corvallis

1994                 M.S.                 Biogeography                University of Wyoming, Laramie

1992                 B.S.                  Forest Biology               SUNY College of Envir. Science and

                                                                                    Forestry, Syracuse

Ph.D. Dissertation Title: Fire history, fire regimes, and development of forest structure in the central western Oregon Cascades

M.S. Thesis Title: The spatial structure and tree population dynamics of the forest-tundra ecotone, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

 

Professional Experience

8/2003 – present            Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno

7/2000 – 7/2000             Research Scientist, Mountain Forest Ecology, Swiss Federal Inst. Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

7/1998 – 6/2000             Postdoctoral Research Associate, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University

publications

38. J.S. Hartman, P.J. Weisberg, R. Pillai, J.A. Ericksen, T. Kuiken, S.E. Lindberg, H. Zhang, J.J. Rytuba, and M.S. Gustin. 2009. Application of a rule-based model to estimate mercury exchange for three background biomes in the continental United States. Environmental Science and Technology, in press.

37. Poage, N.J., P.J. Weisberg, J.C. Tappeiner, P.C. Impara, and T.S. Sensenig, 2009. Influence of climate, fire, and topography on contemporary age structures of Douglas-fir at 205 old forest sites in Western Oregon: A study in variability. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, in press.

36. Bauer, J.M. and P.J. Weisberg. 2009. Fire history of a central Nevada pinyon-juniper woodland. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, in press.

35. Weisberg, P.J. 2009. Historical fire frequency on contrasting slope facets along the McKenzie River, western Oregon Cascades. Western North American Naturalist, in press.

34. Romme, W.H., C.D. Allen, J.D. Bailey, W.L. Baker, B.T. Bestelmeyer, P.M. Brown, K.S. Eisenhart, L. Floyd-Hanna, D.W. Huffman, B. Jacobs, R.F. Miller, E. Muldavin, T.W. Swetnam, R.J. Tausch, and P.J. Weisberg. 2009. Historical and modern disturbance regimes, stand structures, and landscape dynamics in piņon-juniper vegetation of the western U.S. Rangeland Ecology and Management 62: 203-222.

33. Garbarino, M., P.J. Weisberg, and R. Motta. 2009. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances: interactions and effects on the structure of European larch forests. Forest Ecology and Management 257: 1794-1802. 

32. Ko, D., N. Bristow, D. Greenwood, and P. Weisberg. 2009. Canopy cover estimation in semi-arid woodlands: comparison of field-based and remote sensing methods. Forest Science 55: 132-141.

31. Greenwood, D.L. and P.J. Weisberg. 2009. GIS-based modeling of pinyon-juniper woodland structure in the Great Basin. Forest Science 55: 1-12.

30. Weisberg, P.J., D. Ko, C. Py, and J. Bauer. 2008. Modeling fire and landform influences on the distribution of old-growth pinyon-juniper woodland. Landscape Ecology 23: 931-943.

29. Greenwood, D.L. and P.J. Weisberg. 2008. Density-dependent tree mortality in pinyon-juniper woodlands. Forest Ecology and Management 255: 2129-2137.

28. Gustin, M.S., S.E. Lindbergh, and P.J. Weisberg. 2008. An update on the natural sources and sinks of atmospheric mercury. Applied Geochemistry 23: 482-493.

27. Mortenson, S.G., P.J. Weisberg, and B.E. Ralston. 2008. Do beavers promote the invasion of non-native Tamarix in the Grand Canyon riparian zone? Wetlands 28: 666-675.

26. Pautasso, M. and P.J. Weisberg. 2008. Negative density-area relationships: the importance of the zeros. Global Ecology and Biogeography 17: 203-210.

25. Kolden, C.A. and P.J. Weisberg. 2007. Assessing accuracy of manually-mapped wildfire perimeters in topographically dissected areas. Fire Ecology 3: 22-31.

24. Wehrli, A., P.J. Weisberg, W. Schoenenberger, P. Brang, and H. Bugmann. 2007. Improving the establishment submodel of a forest patch model to predict the long-term protective effect of mountain forests. European Journal of Forest Research 126: 131-145.

23. Weisberg, P.J., E. Lingua, and R.B. Pillai. 2007. Spatial patterns of pinyon-juniper expansion in central Nevada. Rangeland Ecology and Management 60: 115-124.

22. Weisberg, P.J., M.B. Coughenour, and H. Bugmann. 2006. Modeling of large herbivore-vegetation interactions in a landscape context. pp. 348-382 in: Danell, K., Bergstrom, R., Duncan, P., Pastor, J. and H. Olff (eds.), Large Herbivore Ecology and Ecosystem Dynamics, Cambridge University Press.

21. Ericksen, J.A., M.S. Gustin, M. Xin, P.J. Weisberg, and G.C.J. Fernandez. 2006. Air-soil exchange of mercury from background soils in the United States. Science for the Total Environment 366: 851-863.

20. Py, C., J. Bauer, F. Biondi, and P.J. Weisberg. 2006. Radial growth responses of singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) to wildfire. Dendrochronologia 24: 39-46.

19. Weisberg, P.J., F. Bonavia, and H. Bugmann. 2005. Modeling the interacting effects of browsing and shading on mountain forest tree regeneration (Picea abies).

        Ecological Modelling 185:213-230

18. Holdenrieder, O., M. Pautasso, P.J. Weisberg, and D. Lonsdale. 2004. Tree diseases and landscape processes: the challenge of landscape pathology. TRENDS in Ecology and Evolution 19: 446-452.

17. Boone, R.B., K.A. Galvin, M.B. Coughenour, J.W. Hudson, P.J. Weisberg, C.H. Vogel, and J.E. Ellis. 2004. Ecosystem modeling adds value to South African climate forecasts. Climatic Change 64: 317-340.

16. Weisberg, P.J. 2004. Importance of non-stand-replacing fire for development of forest structure in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Forest Science 50: 245-258.

15. Weisberg, P.J. and M.B. Coughenour. 2003. Model-based assessment of aspen responses to elk herbivory in Rocky Mountain National Park, USA. Environmental Management 32: 152-169.

14. Weisberg, P.J., C. Hadorn, and H. Bugmann. 2003. Predicting understory vegetation cover from overstory attributes in a temperate mountain forest. Forstwissenschaft. Centralblatt. 122: 273-286.

13. Weisberg, P.J. and H. Bugmann. 2003. Forest dynamics and ungulate herbivory: from leaf to landscape. Forest Ecology and Management 181: 1-12.

12. Weisberg, P.J. and F.J. Swanson. 2003. Regional synchroneity in fire regimes of western Oregon and Washington, U.S.A. Forest Ecology and Management 172: 17-28.

11. Bugmann, H. and Weisberg, P.J. 2003. Forest-ungulate interactions: monitoring, modeling, and management. Journal for Nature Conservation 10: 193-201.

10. Weisberg, P.J., N.T. Hobbs, J.E. Ellis, and M.B. Coughenour. 2002. An ecosystem approach to population management of ungulates. Journal of Environmental Management 65: 181-197.

9. Weisberg, P.J. and F.J. Swanson. 2001. Fire dating from tree rings in Western Cascades Douglas‑fir forests: An error analysis. Northwest Science 75: 145-156.

8. Cissel, J.H., F.J. Swanson, P.J. Weisberg. 1999. Landscape management using historical fire regimes: Blue River, Oregon. Ecological Applications 9: 1217-1231.

7. Peterson, E.B., D.M. Greene, B. McCune, E.T. Peterson, M.A. Hutten, P. Weisberg, and R. Rosentreter. 1998. Sulcaria badia, a rare lichen in western North America. Bryologist 101: 112-115.

6. Baker, W.L. and P.J. Weisberg. 1997. Using GIS to model tree population parameters in the Rocky Mountain National Park forest-tundra ecotone. Journal of Biogeography 24: 513-526.

5. Hessl, A.E., P.J. Weisberg, and W.L. Baker. 1996. Spatial variability of radial growth in the forest-tundra ecotone of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 123(3): 206-212.

4. Weisberg, P.J. and W.L. Baker. 1995. Spatial variation in tree seedling and krummholz growth in the forest-tundra ecotone of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research 27: 116-129.

3. Weisberg, P.J. and W.L. Baker. 1995. Spatial variation in tree regeneration in the forest-tundra ecotone, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 25:1326-1339.

2. Baker, W.L. and P.J. Weisberg. 1995. Landscape analysis of the forest-tundra ecotone in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Professional Geographer 47:361-375.

1. Baker, W.L., J.J. Honaker, and P.J. Weisberg. 1995. Using aerial photography and GIS to map the forest-tundra ecotone in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, for global change research. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 61:313-320.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (since 2003)

2009     Mortenson, S.G. and P.J. Weisberg. Does flow alteration influence the dominance of invasive woody species in riparian landscapes? Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Snowbird, UT.

2009     Weisberg, P.J., S.G. Mortenson, and B.E. Ralston. Spatial associations of beavers, willow and tamarisk along a regulated river: potential influences of selective foraging on plant invasion processes. Tamarisk and Russian Olive Research Conference, Feb. 18-19 2009, Reno NV.

2009     S.G. Mortenson, and P.J. Weisberg. River regulation in the southwestern US: bane or boon for invasive species? Tamarisk and Russian Olive Research Conference, Feb. 18-19 2009, Reno NV.

2009     J. Yang, T. Dilts, and P.J. Weisberg. Predicting riparian vegetation distribution in response to groundwater decline at the landscape level. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Snowbird, UT.

2009     Dilts, T., J. Yang, and P.J. Weisberg. Land use change in an arid agricultural landscape: reconstructing the historical vegetation at the time of settlement. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Snowbird, UT.

2008     Weisberg, P.J., J. Bauer, D. Ko, and Z. Nelson. Fire regimes of pinyon-juniper woodlands: implications for landscape change. Society of American Foresters 2008 National Convention, 11/5 – 11/9/2008. Reno NV (invited presentation)

2008     Holdenrieder, O., M. Pautasso, and P.J. Weisberg. Tree disease management in heterogeneous landscapes. 9th International Congress of Plant Pathology, Torino, Italy. 8/24 – 8/29/2008.

2008     Mortenson, S.G.*, P.J. Weisberg, and L.E. Stevens. The effects of river regulation, geomorphology, and climate on Tamarix establishment in the Grand Canyon National Park. 93rd Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, 8/3 – 8/8/2007. Milwaukee, WI. (poster)

2008     Kitchen, S.G., P.M. Brown, E.K. Heyerdahl, P.J. Weisberg, and M.H. Weber. Historic fire regimes and vegetation dynamics for Eastern Great Basin and Northern Colorado Plateau mountain sagebrush communities. Association for Fire Ecology Regional Conference (Fire in the Southwest), Tucson, AZ. 1/28/08 – 1/31/2008. 

2008     Bristow, N., P.J. Weisberg, and R. Tausch. Plant community succession following natural and anthropogenic disturbance events in Great Basin pinyon-juniper woodlands. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Madison, WI. 4-7-2008. (poster)

2008     Dilts, T., P.J. Weisberg, and N. Bristow. A hierarchical approach to assessing landscape similarity and locating control sites for experimental landscape studies. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Madison, WI. 4-7-2008.

2008     Engelhardt, B., P.J. Weisberg, and J. Chambers. Influence of watershed morphometry on the distribution of riparian vegetation: a multi-scale analysis. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Madison, WI. 4-7-2008. (poster)

2008     Ko, D., P.J. Weisberg, A Sparrow, L. Condon. Fire regime, legacy effects, and cheatgrass invasion in the Great Basin of central Nevada. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Madison, WI. 4-7-2008.

2008     Nelson, Z., P.J. Weisberg, and S. Kitchen. Spatial simulation of historical landscape patterns in mountain sagebrush dominated landscapes of Utah and Nevada. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Madison, WI. 4-7-2008. (poster)

2008     Sunderman, S., P.J. Weisberg, and S. Ganschow. Reconstructing historical fire regimes at a Mojave Desert springs complex. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Madison, WI. 4-7-2008. (poster)

2007     Mortenson, S.G., P.J. Weisberg, and L.E. Stevens. Retrospective analysis of Tamarix establishment in the Grand Canyon National Park: Interactions of life history and landscapes.  Ecological Society of America/Society for Ecological Restoration joint annual meeting, San Jose, CA, 8/5 – 8/10/2007.

2007     Ganschow, S.L., P.J. Weisberg, D.W. Johnson, and W.W. Miller. Effects of changing disturbance regimes on watershed-scale nutrient cycling: An integrated modeling approach. Ecological Society of America/Society for Ecological Restoration joint annual meeting, San Jose, CA, 8/5 – 8/10/2007.

2007     Miller, W.W., D.W. Johnson, R.F. Walker, S.L. Ganschow, and P.J. Weisberg. Restoring forest health: the effects of biomass management on potential nutrient delivery to Lake Tahoe. Ecological Society of America/Society for Ecological Restoration joint annual meeting, San Jose, CA, 8/5 – 8/10/2007.

2007     Condon, L.A., P.J. Weisberg, and J.C. Chambers. Post-fire succession in a Great Basin pinyon-juniper woodland: Importance of seed source availability and topographic heterogeneity. Ecological Society of America/Society for Ecological Restoration joint annual meeting, San Jose, CA, 8/5 – 8/10/2007.

2007     Garbarino, M, P.J. Weisberg, and R. Motta. Natural and anthropic disturbances: interactions and effects on the structure of European larch forests. International Conference: Natural Hazards and Natural Disturbances in Mountain Forests. Trento, Italy. September 18-21, 2007.

2007     Ko, D, P.J. Weisberg, and A. Sparrow. Landscape simulation modeling of anthropogenic impacts on pinyon-juniper woodland distribution during early settlement: Nevada Great Basin. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Tucson, AZ. 4-12-07.

2007     Weisberg*, P.J., J. Bauer, D. Ko, and E. Lingua. Increased conifer dominance in the Nevada Great Basin, USA: landscape change in the context of fire, grazing and human influences. International Conference: Natural Hazards and Natural Disturbances in Mountain Forests. Trento, Italy. September 18-21, 2007.

2007     Weisberg*, P.J., L.E. Stevens, S.G. Mortenson, and G. Siemion. Non-native Tamarix ramosissima recruitment along the Colorado River: Interactions among flow regime and geomorphology. Weed Science Society of America Annual Meeting, USDA/CSREES NRI Project Directors Meeting, San Antonio, TX. 2-6-07. (invited presentation)

2007     Ko, D, P.J. Weisberg*, and A. Sparrow. Landscape simulation modeling of anthropogenic impacts on pinyon-juniper woodland distribution during early settlement: Nevada Great Basin. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Tucson, AZ. 4-12-07.

2007     Ganschow*, S.L., P.J. Weisberg, D.W. Johnson, and W.W. Miller. Modeling the effects of historical and current fire regimes on nutrient cycling in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), Tucson, AZ. 4-12-07.

2006     Mortenson*, S.G., P.J. Weisberg, and L.E. Stevens. Hydrogeomorphic factors influencing the establishment and distribution of Tamarix in Grand Canyon National Park. The 2006 Tamarisk Research Conference: Current Status and Future Directions. Fort Collins, CO. 10-3-06.

2006     Kolden*, C.A. and P.J. Weisberg. Remote sensing and GIS methods for more accurate wildfire perimeter mapping. 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, San Diego, CA. 11-14-06.

2006     Weisberg*, P.J., D.J. Ko, C. Py, J.M. Bauer, and A.M. Sparrow. Fire and landform influences on the distribution of old-growth pinyon-juniper woodland. 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, San Diego, CA. 11-14-06

2006     Bauer*, J.M. and P.J. Weisberg. Fire history and stand structure of a central Nevada pinyon-juniper woodland. 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, San Diego, CA. 11-14-06.

2006     Dailey*, S.N. and P.J. Weisberg. Influence of ignition type on the magnitude and spatial distribution of annual burn probability in the Lake Tahoe Basin. 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, San Diego, CA. 11-14-06 (poster).

2006     Ganschow*, S.L., P.J. Weisberg, D.W. Johnson, and W.W. Miller. Effects of historical and alternative fire regimes on nutrient cycling in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Tahoe Research Symposium: Science as a Tool in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management, Lake Tahoe Science Plan Special Workshop. Incline Village, NV. 8-18-06 (poster).

2006     Greenwood*, D.L. and P.J. Weisberg. Spatial characterization of tree canopy cover across a Great Basin pinyon-juniper woodland. 14th Wildland Shrub Symposium, Cedar City UT. 6-6-06.

2006     Bauer*, J. and P.J. Weisberg. Fire history and stand structure of a central Nevada pinyon-juniper woodland. Nevada Wildland Fire Research and Outreach Conference, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV. 4-17-06. (poster)

2006     Weisberg*, P.J., R.B. Pillai, and E. Lingua. Recent woodland expansion in the Nevada Great Basin: Topographic influences and landscape effects. Annual meeting of the US-IALE (U.S. Chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology), San Diego, CA. 3-30-06.

2005     Weisberg*, P.J., M. Pautasso, and O. Holdenrieder. Landscape pathology: current research and future challenges. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. March 2005, Denver, CO.

2005     Pillai*, R.B., P.J. Weisberg, and E. Lingua. Thirty years of woodland expansion in central Nevada Great Basin: A case study of the Simpson Park Range. 20th Biennial Workshop on Aerial Photography, Videography, and High Resolution Digital Imagery for Resource Assessment. Weslaco, TX Oct. 4-6, 2005.

2005     Kolden*, C.A. and P.J. Weisberg. How Accurately are Wildfires Mapped? An Assessment of Mapping and Area Calculation Methodology for Wildfires. Association of Pacific Coast Geographers Annual Meeting, Oct. 19 – 22, 2005.

2005     Gustin*, M., Johnson, D., Weisberg, P., Rytuba, J., Lindberg, S., Zhang, H. Ericksen, J., Engle, M., Fay, L., Giglini, T., Kuiken, T., Lyman, S., Xin, M. Assessment of natural source (geologic and vegetation) mercury emissions: Speciation, mechanisms and significance, Invited paper International Air Quality V meeting, Arlington VA Sept 19-21.

2005     Bauer, J. and P.J. Weisberg. Fire regimes in a Great Basin woodland. Ecology and Management of Pinyon-Juniper and Sagebrush Communities, May 16-19, 2005, Montrose, CO. (poster)

2005     Kolden*, C.A. and P.J. Weisberg. Assessment of mapping accuracy and GIS methods on wildfire. Nevada GIS (ESRI Users) Annual Meeting, Reno NV. (poster)

2004     Weisberg*, P.J. Mixed-severity fire regimes of the Central Cascades: understanding and managing for complexity. The Association for Fire Ecology. Spokane, WA. (invited presentation)

2004     Weisberg, P.J., and N.J. Poage. Mixed-severity fire and structural development of central Cascades Douglas-fir forests.. The Association for Fire Ecology. Spokane, WA. (poster)

2004     Wehrli*, A., H. Lischke, P.J. Weisberg, H. Bugmann, W. Schoenenberger, and P. Brang. Improving the regeneration submodel in a patch model to predict structural forest dynamics: A case study in a Swiss mountain forest. Regenerating Mountain Forests (IUFRO conference), 17-19 Sept. 2004, Bavaria, Germany

2004     Weisberg, P.J., E.L. Berkley, and F.J. Swanson. Regional synchroneity of historical fire regimes in the Pacific Northwest: Climate and anthropogenic influences. Mountain Climate Sciences Symposium, Kings Beach, CA.  (poster)

2003     Weisberg, P.J., and H. Bugmann. Interacting effects of browsing and shading on mountain forest tree regeneration: a modeling approach. International Conference on “Decision Support for Multiple Purpose Forestry,” April 23-25, 2003, Vienna, Austria. (poster)

2003     Weisberg*, P.J. Integrating plant and animal processes in grazing system models. Workshop on “New Directions in Research in Grazing Ecology,” The Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland. 12-19-03. (invited presentation)

courses taught

Applied Landscape Ecology (UNR: Spring 2004, 2006, 2008; ETHZ: Spring 2001, 2002, 2003; CSU: Spring 1999)

Remote Sensing for Natural Resources (UNR: Spring 2005, 2007, 2009)

Advanced Analysis Methods for Natural Resources (UNR: Spring 2005, 2007, 2009)

Plant Succession over Heterogeneous Landscapes (UNR: Spring 2006)

Conservation, Humans and Biodiversity (UNR: Fall 2004, 2005, 2007)

Professional affiliations

International Association of Landscape Ecologists, Ecological Society of America, Association of American Geographers, Association for Fire Ecology