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John W. Coulston

Project Leader/Supervisory Research Forester
Southern Research Station
1710 Research Center Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24060-6349
United States
Telefon
540-231-4674

Current Research

Developing and applying quantitative tools and techniques to assess resource conditions and characteristics across broad spatial scales.

Bildung

  • North Carolina State University, Ph.D., Forest Ecology, 2004
  • North Carolina State University, M.S., Forest Biometrics, 1999
  • North Carolina State University, B.S., Forest Management, 1996

Other Publications

  • Researchers used the USGS National Land Cover Database, an ecosystem model, and the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform to isolate and identify the effects of land use and land cover changes on forest carbon sequestration. USDA Forest Service photo.

    U.S. lands show decreasing capacity to sequester carbon

    Land sequesters huge amounts of carbon – historically, enough to offset carbon emissions from transportation, industry, and other sectors. Of all types of land cover, forests store the largest amount of carbon. However, new research reports that changes in land cover will likely diminish the ability of land to offset carbon emissions.
    Year
    2021
    Research Station
    Southern Research Station
    Principal Investigator(s): John W. Coulston
  • Water supply is likely to increase, though not uniformly across regions or utility systems. Utility decisions will interact with changes to water supply, and this research underscores the need to consider adaptive water management systems when planning for drinking water supplies. 

    Future Drinking Water Supply Depends on Interactions of Climate, Land Use, and Water Management

    Changes in climate and land use strongly shape water resource management, but understanding their joint impacts is extremely challenging. To reliably meet future drinking water demands, water utilities must understand potential impacts of climate and land use changes on water availability.This work underscores the need to consider system responses and outcomes when determining the impacts of hydrologic change on drinking water availability.
    Year
    2020
    Research Station
    Southern Research Station
    Principal Investigator(s): James Vose, John W. Coulston
    State(s)
    North Carolina
  • Land use change is particularly influential in a mixed land use watershed, which is especially important for identifying areas where hydrologic responses are most sensitive to land use change. Even a moderate amount of conversion of forest to developed use in a mixed use watershed had a large effect on streamflow dynamics.

    New research reveals that mixed land use watersheds are most vulnerable to forest loss

    Forest Service scientists developed a novel land use model and integrated modeling framework that represents a significant advancement for evaluating the potential effects of climate and land use change at scales necessary to inform policy and management decision-making. Their findings indicate that land use change was particularly influential in a mixed land use watershed, which is especially important for identifying areas where hydrologic responses are most sensitive to land use change. This study emphasizes the importance of integrated modeling to predict future water resources, including impacts from land use change, climate change, forest dynamics, and hydrological processes.
    Year
    2017
    Research Station
    Southern Research Station
    Principal Investigator(s): James Vose, John W. Coulston
    State(s)
    North Carolina
  • Mixed Species Forest. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.

    Carbon Accumulation by U.S. Forests May Slow Over the Next 25 Years

    U.S. forests currently help offset carbon emissions and reduce the overall costs of achieving emission targets but that could change over the next 25 years. The accumulation of carbon stored in U.S. forests may slow in the future, primarily due to land use change and forest aging, according to findings by Forest Service scientists. Future declines in forest carbon sequestration could influence emission reduction targets and impact the costs of achieving policy goals. Policies that encourage retaining or expanding forest land could enhance carbon sequestration levels over the next 25 years.
    Year
    2016
    Research Station
    Southern Research Station
    Principal Investigator(s): James Vose, David N. Wear, John W. Coulston
    State(s)
    Virginia
Last updated August 19, 2020