Dale Vitt

Professor and Chair of Department
 
Ph.D. 1970, University of Michigan
 
Biogeochemistry and paleoecology of peatlands; biosystematics and taxonomy (emphasizing bryophytes)
 
Office: Life Science II room 422
Lab: Life Science II room 481
Office Phone: 618-453-3210
Lab Phone 618-453-3226
email: DV

Research Interests

My interests include ecosystem dynamics, biogeochemistry and development of peatlands, particularly as related to climatic changes. I also have continuing interests in all aspects of research related to bryophytes including ecological and systematic studies of mosses in tropical, temperate and arctic areas. I am especially interested in biodiversity, habitat preferences, morphometrics and cladistic analyses of moss taxa and along with other staff am interested in studies of population variations as studied through isozymes.

Selected Publications

  1. Wieder, RK, DH Vitt, M. Burke-Scoll, KD Scott, M. House, and MA Vile. 2010. Nitrogen and sulfur deposition do not affect the growth of Sphagnum fuscum in bogs of the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Alberta. Journal of Limnology 69 (Suppl. 1): 161-170.
  2. Vitt, DH, RW Wieder, KD Scott, and S Faller. 2009. Decomposition and peat accumulation in rich fens of boreal Alberta, Canada. Ecosystems 12: 360-373.
  3. Wieder, RW, KD Scott, K Kamminga, MA Vile, DH Vitt, T Bone, B Xu, BW Benscoter and JS Bhatti. 2009. Post-fire carbon balance in boreal bogs of Alberta, Canada. Global Change Biology 15: 63-81.
  4. Vitt, DH.  2008.  Peatlands, pp.  2656-2664.  In: SE Jorgensen and B. Fath (eds). Encyclopedia of Ecology.  Elsevier, Oxford.
  5. Turetsky, MR, S Crow, RJ Evans, DH Vitt and RK Wieder. 2008. Tradeoffs in resource allocation among moss species control decomposition in boreal peatlands. Journal of Ecology 96: 1297-1305.
  6. Beilman, DW, DH Vitt, JS Bhatti, and S Forest.  2008.  Peat carbon stocks in the Mackenzie River Basin: uncertainties revealed in a high-resolution case study. Global Change Biology 14: 1221-1232.
  7. Turetsky, MR, RK Wieder, DH Vitt, RJ Evans, and KD Scott.  2007.  The disappearance of relict permafrost in boreal North America: Effects on peatland carbon storage and fluxes. Global Change Biology 13: 1922-1934.
  8. Benscoter BW and DH Vitt.  2007.  Evaluating feathermoss growth: a challenge to traditional methods and implications for the boreal carbon budget. Journal of Ecology 95:151-158.
  9. Vitt, DH.  2007.  Estimating ground layer net primary production in tundra, peatlands, and forests, pp. 82-105.  In: T Fahey (ed.), Principles and Standards for Measuring Net Primary Productivity in Long-Term Ecological Studies. Oxford Press, Oxford.  
  10. Wieder RK and DH Vitt.  2006. Boreal Peatland Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin-Heidelburg-New York.

SIUC / College of Science / Plant Biology
URL: http://www.science.siu.edu/plant-biology/BioPages/Vitt.bio.html
Last updated: 27-Oct-10 / dln