Featured Faculty: John Pastor
Professor, Department of Biology
Interests: Species effects on nutrient cycling, plant-herbivore interactions, northern ecosystems, mathematical ecology, biological illustration
Courses Taught: Biology 1097 (Biological Illustration), Biology 4891 (Animal Behavior), Biology 5807 (Mathematical Ecology), Biology 5863 (Ecosystems Ecology), IBS 8011 (Integrated Biological Systems), IBS 8030 (Ecological Processes)
Website: http://www.d.umn.edu/biology/faculty/pastor.html
John Pastor received his Ph.D. in Forestry and Soil Science in 1980 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and did post-doctoral research in the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He has been a Senior Research Associate at the Natural Resources Research Institute since 1984, Professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota Duluth since 1996, and Director of Graduate Studies in Biology from 2000 to 2009. He is one of the founding faculty of the Integrated BioSciences M.S. – Ph.D. Program at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
Prof. Pastor’s research is on the structure and function of boreal forests from Minnesota northward into Canada and also in Scandinavia. Boreal forests comprise 20% of the world’s forested regions, second only to tropical forests. They are also among the last large expanses of wilderness left on the globe and are some of the most beautiful landscapes anywhere. Determining how their complex behaviors emerge from their relatively simple species composition, limited growing seasons, and low soil fertility is a fascinating challenge, both mathematically and experimentally.
Examples of Prof. Pastor’s Research
Pastor, J. and W.M. Post. 1988. Response of northern forests to CO2-induced climatic change. Nature 334: 55-58.
This paper uses a mathematical model to forecast how forests from Minnesota northward and eastward might respond to global warming. The paper demonstrates that the responses of forests and the migration of tree species depend on the distribution of soils in the landscape. Of all forests in eastern North America, Minnesota’s forests will experience the greatest changes in response to global warming.
Pastor, J., B. Dewey, R.J. Naiman, P.F. McInnes, and Y. Cohen. 1993. Moose browsing and soil fertility in the boreal forests of Isle Royale National Park. Ecology 74:467-480.
This paper demonstrates that by selectively browsing on deciduous plant species with easily digestible and decomposable tissues, moose shift species composition to conifers with slowly decaying tissues which in turn decreases the rate of nitrogen cycling and ecosystem productivity.