Mark R. Walbridge

Since October 2006, Dr. Mark R. Walbridge has served as the National Program Leader for the USDA/Agricultural Research Service’s Water Availability & Watershed Management national research program, Natural Resources and Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Office of National Programs. He directs research at approximately 25 ARS laboratories throughout the U.S. He manages the Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research network (LTAR), ARS’s Benchmark Research Watersheds, and research activities associated with the Conservation Effects Assessment Project. From November 2008 through September 2009, he served as Division Chief for Renewable Energy, Natural Resources and Environment, in the Research, Education, and Extension Office (REEO), in the Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (REE), USDA, where he coordinated relevant research and science-based activities across REE mission agencies. Before coming to ARS, Dr. Walbridge was a Program Director for the National Science Foundation’s Ecosystem Studies Program (Division of Environmental Biology, BIO Directorate) (2004-2006), Professor and Chair of the Department of Biology at West Virginia University (2001-2004), and Assistant/Associate Professor of Biology/Environmental Science & Policy at George Mason University (1989-2001). He was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Urban Ecosystems (1995-2004).

Dr. Walbridge holds B.A. and M.S. degrees in Biology from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of North Carolina. His research career focused on the ecology and biogeochemistry of freshwater wetland and forest ecosystems, with particular interest in the cycling of phosphorus and associated elements. He has published more than 25 papers in the peer-reviewed literature.