Prof. Sean Thomas

Sean Thomas (Ph.D., Harvard, 1993) has been preoccupied with the comparative biology of trees and forest responses to the intentional and accidental impacts of humans for some 25 years. He is a principle investigator with the Smithsonian Institution’s ForestGEO program and has had appointments as the Canada Research Chair in Forests and Environmental Change and as NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Biochar and Ecosystem Restoration. His research in the Thomas Lab addresses how trees and forests respond to human impacts, and how forest management can enhance ecosystem “services” (things people want from forests), ranging from biodiversity to greenhouse gas fluxes and climate mitigation. His recent research has taken a turn to the “dark side” of forest ecology—namely biochar (charcoal used as soil amendment). His current work explores many aspects and applications of biochar, including its use for remediation of contaminated substrates such as mine tailings, its use as a soil amendment in managed forests and urban ecosystems, and the role of natural pyrogenic carbon in soil processes and the forest carbon cycle.