Dr. Kirsten Stephan is an Associate Professor of Forestry in the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources at West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA. She graduated with a M.S. in Biology from Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany, in 2001 and a Ph. D. in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA, in 2007. Dr. Stephan’s current research interests include disturbance (fire, harvest) effects on nitrogen cycling and plant biodiversity in forest ecosystems. In the past, she also conducted N biogeochemistry and plant ecology research in prairie and urban settings. Dr. Stephan is a member of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) and the Society of American Foresters (SAF).