Justin Poinsatte

Justin’s research is focused on changes in carbon and nitrogen dynamics on nutrient-limited areas 

of Mt. St. Helens. The goal of the research is to provide a better understanding of the fundamentals 

of soil and plant nitrogen transformations, including mechanisms of nitrogen addition and retention 

and the interactions between carbon availability and microbial communities. The NSPIRE program 

allows interactions with other fields such as atmospheric chemistry, population ecology, hydrology, 

and soil chemistry and provides for an open framework to incorporate interdisciplinary approaches 

into this research.  Results will further our understanding of fundamental processes of carbon and 

nitrogen interactions  and  will lead to greater knowledge of ecosystem function, and  can also be 

applied to restoration efforts to inform how  productivity and biodiversity  can be restored in 

disturbed areas. Finally, the young, rapidly evolving ecosystems of Mt. St. Helens can be used as  a 

model to understand basic carbon and nitrogen cycling within the soil, which can then be applied to 

more complex ecosystems.