UM Directory

I am a broadly trained ecologist whose research focuses on both applied and fundamental aspects of terrestrial ecosystem biogeochemistry. My work seeks to enhance our understanding of how carbon and nutrients flow through the plant-soil-atmosphere continuum in both natural and managed ecosystems, and to evaluate how different land management practices can be leveraged to promote environmental sustainability and support ecosystem function. Most recently, my research has focused on the effects of fire-driven plant community shifts, within western conifer forests, on ecosystem processes such as carbon storage and nutrient availability, and how these relationships vary across spatial and temporal scales. In particular, I am interested in better understanding the factors that govern soil pyrogenic carbon (black carbon) production and stability and the influence of pyrogenic soil carbon on post-fire forest regeneration, for overstory and understory communities.

In addition to my research, I am a passionate and dedicated educator. My teaching philosophy is grounded in several key tenets:

1. Intellectual development hinges on engaging students' curiosity and a supportive learning environment.
2. Learning is a dynamic process where multiple modes of teaching support diverse learning styles
3. Fostering critical and creative thinking from multiple perspectives is crucial for scientific progress.
4. Establishing data literacy is paramount.

Through my teaching at the University of Montana, I am committed to developing students' scientific literacy and helping students understand and communicate complex environmental issues effectively.

Education

Ph.D., Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Montana State University, 2022

M.A., Science Curriculum and Instruction, University of Vermont, 2015

B.S., Environmental Science, Endicott College, 2011

Postdoctoral Research Appointments

Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Lab, U.S. Forest Service, Missoula, MT, 2023-2024

University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI, Department of Soil Science, 2022-2023

Courses Taught

• NRSM 212: Ecology, physics, and taxonomy of soil
• NRSM 265: Elements of Ecological Restoration
• NRSM121: Introduction to environmental science and sustainability
• NRSM110: First year seminar in environmental science and sustainability
• GPHY 111&112: Introduction to physical geography: climate, landforms, and geography and lab

Research Interests

Soils, fire, biogeochemistry, ecosystem ecology.

Selected Publications

• Gay, J.D., B. Currey, KT Davis, ENJ, Brookshire. Functional attributes of conifers expanding into semi-arid temperate grasslands modulate carbon and nitrogen fluxes in response to prescribed fire (2024). Accepted Aug 1, 2024. Biogeochemistry
• Romanko, C. A., Gay, J. D., Powell, J. M., Wattiaux, M., Barford, C., Larson, R. A., & Ruark, M. D. (2023). Soil greenhouse gas flux and nitrogen mineralization following manure application from tannin-fed dairy cows. Journal of Environmental Quality, 00, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20534
• Gay, J.D., Currey, B. & Brookshire, E.N.J. Global distribution and climate sensitivity of the tropical montane forest nitrogen cycle. Nature Communications 13, 7364 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-35170-z
• Gay, J.D., H. Goemann, B. Currey, P.C Stoy, P. Miller, B. Peyton, B. Poulter, E.N.J Brookshire (2022). The climate mitigation potential and soil microbial response of cyanobacteria-fertilized bioenergy crops on semi-arid cropland. Global Change Biology: Bioenergy. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcbb.13001
• Epstein, K., D. J. A. Wood, K. Roemer, B. Currey, H. Duff, J. D. Gay, H. Goemann, S. Loewen, M. C. Milligan, J. A. F. Wendt, E. Jack Brookshire, B. D. Maxwell, L. McNew, D. B. McWethy, P. C. Stoy, and J. H. Haggerty. (2021). Toward an urgent yet deliberate conservation strategy: sustaining social-ecological systems in rangelands of the Northern Great Plains, Montana. Ecology and Society 26(1):10. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12141-260110