Scholars@Duke
Neal Flanagan

Neal Flanagan

Research Scientist, Senior
Nicholas School of the Environment
neal.flanagan@duke.edu
Box 90328, Durham, NC 27708-0328
308 Research Drive, Rm A219, Durham, NC 27708

Selected Publications

Water quality and wetland vegetation responses to water level variations in a university stormwater reuse reservoir: Nature-based approaches to campus water sustainability.

Journal Article The Science of the total environment · October 2024 In response to climate-driven water shortages, Duke University in 2014 constructed a water reuse reservoir and wetland complex (Pond) to capture urban stormwater and recycle water to provide campus cooling and reduce downstream loading of nutrients and sed ... Full text Cite

Annual carbon sequestration and loss rates under altered hydrology and fire regimes in southeastern USA pocosin peatlands.

Journal Article Global change biology · November 2022 Peatlands drained for agriculture or forestry are susceptible to the rapid release of greenhouse gases (GHGs) through enhanced microbial decomposition and increased frequency of deep peat fires. We present evidence that rewetting drained subtropical wooded ... Full text Cite

Data from: Assessment of soil carbon sequestration or losses from drained short pocosins located in Hyde County, NC, during the years 2020 and 2021

Dataset · August 30, 2022 Peatlands drained for agriculture or forestry are susceptible to the rapid release of greenhouse gases (GHG) through enhanced microbial decomposition and increased frequency of deep peat fires. We present evidence that rewetting drained subtropical wooded ... Full text Cite

The Effects of Hydrological Management on Methane Emissions from Southeastern Shrub Bogs of the USA

Journal Article Wetlands. · October 2021 Peatlands are responsible for the majority of methane (CH₄) emission from wetlands globally. Hydrological changes induced by climatic and anthropogenic disturbance may substantially alter CH₄ emission in peatlands. Here we measured CH₄ emission monthly for ... Full text Cite

Response of fungal communities to fire in a subtropical peatland

Journal Article Plant and Soil · September 1, 2021 Purpose: Wildfire, an increasing disturbance in peatlands, could dramatically change carbon stocks and reshape plant/microbial communities, with long-lasting effects on peatland functions. Soil fungi are important in controlling the belowground carbon and ... Full text Open Access Cite

Low-severity fire as a mechanism of organic matter protection in global peatlands: Thermal alteration slows decomposition.

Journal Article Global change biology · July 2020 Worldwide, regularly recurring wildfires shape many peatland ecosystems to the extent that fire-adapted species often dominate plant communities, suggesting that wildfire is an integral part of peatland ecology rather than an anomaly. The most destructive ... Full text Open Access Cite

Data from: Low-severity fire as a mechanism of organic matter protection in global peatlands: thermal alteration slows decomposition

Dataset · April 24, 2020 Worldwide, regularly-recurring wildfires shape many peatland ecosystems to the extent that fire-adapted species often dominate plant communities, suggesting that wildfire is an integral part of peatland ecology rather than an anomaly. The most destructive ... Full text Cite

Quantification of Peat Thickness and Stored Carbon at the Landscape Scale in Tropical Peatlands: A Comparison of Airborne Geophysics and an Empirical Topographic Method

Journal Article Journal of Geophysical Research Earth Surface · December 1, 2019 Peatlands play a key role in the global carbon cycle, sequestering and releasing large amounts of carbon. Despite their importance, a reliable method for the quantification of peatland thickness and volume is still missing, particularly for peat deposits l ... Full text Open Access Cite

Tropical peatland carbon storage linked to global latitudinal trends in peat recalcitrance.

Journal Article Nature communications · September 2018 Peatlands represent large terrestrial carbon banks. Given that most peat accumulates in boreal regions, where low temperatures and water saturation preserve organic matter, the existence of peat in (sub)tropical regions remains enigmatic. Here we examined ... Full text Open Access Cite

Neotropical peatland methane emissions along a vegetation and biogeochemical gradient.

Journal Article PloS one · January 2017 Tropical wetlands are thought to be the most important source of interannual variability in atmospheric methane (CH4) concentrations, yet sparse data prevents them from being incorporated into Earth system models. This problem is particularly pronounced in ... Full text Open Access Cite

Drained coastal peatlands: A potential nitrogen source to marine ecosystems under prolonged drought and heavy storm events-A microcosm experiment.

Journal Article The Science of the total environment · October 2016 Over the past several decades there has been a massive increase in coastal eutrophication, which is often caused by increased runoff input of nitrogen from landscape alterations. Peatlands, covering 3% of land area, have stored about 12-21% of global soil ... Full text Open Access Cite

Connecting differential responses of native and invasive riparian plants to climate change and environmental alteration.

Journal Article Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · April 2015 Climate change is predicted to impact river systems in the southeastern United States through alterations of temperature, patterns of precipitation and hydrology. Future climate scenarios for the southeastern United States predict (1) surface water tempera ... Full text Open Access Cite

Integrated stream and wetland restoration: A watershed approach to improved water quality on the landscape

Journal Article Ecological Engineering · 2011 Water quality in Upper Sandy Creek, a headwater stream for the Cape Fear River in the North Carolina Piedmont, is impaired due to high N and P concentrations, sediment load, and coliform bacteria. The creek and floodplain ecosystem had become dysfunctional ... Open Access Cite

A multi-scale approach to prioritize wetland restoration for watershed-level water quality

Journal Article Wetlands Ecology and Management · December 2010 Abstract: Wetland restoration is commonly presented as an important strategy for maintaining and enhancing the water quality and ecological capital of watershed-scale ecosystems. Prioritizing restoration sites on the landscape is often a haphazard process ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Spatial impacts and wetland restoration on riparian soil properties in the North Carolina Piedmont

Journal Article Restoration Ecology · 2010 Hydric soil development of riparian wetlands is primarily influenced by the hydrologic connection between the floodplains and the stream channel. Often, the goal of riparian restoration is to revitalize this connectivity through a restructuring of the stre ... Open Access Link to item Cite

Predicting metal retention in a constructed mine drainage wetland

Journal Article Ecological Engineering · June 1994 Full text Cite