Lawrence (Gary) G. Oates

Land Resources Program
Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1575 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1597
Tel. 608.890.0268, Fax 608.262.5217
Email: oates@wisc.edu



:: Education ::

M.S. 2004 University of California, Berkeley - Range Management. 2002 - 2004
Thesis title: Trace gas fluxes from grazed and ungrazed spring-fed wetlands in a Californian oak savanna.

This study relates environmental and anthropogenic (cattle grazing) factors affecting methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) flux in spring-fed wetland ecosystems of California's foothill oak woodlands. Spring-fed wetlands are small but highly productive systems that form at slope breaks where underlying impervious layers of bedrock or clay intercept the soil surface. Nestled within the annual grassland matrix, they are important as sources of water and green forage for domestic livestock during the California dry season. If managed poorly, spring-fed wetland function and structure may be impacted by overuse. Some of the negative effects of overuse include reduced vegetation cover, alteration of soil characteristics, erosion, and changes in nutrient dynamics. This study attempts to quantify CH4, CO2 and N2O fluxes from these systems and to relate these fluxes to impacts that grazing may have on spring-fed ecosystem function.

B.S. 2002 University of California, Berkeley - Resource Management. 2000 - 2002
High honors - Minor in Forestry
Honors Thesis title: The effects of grazing on methane emissions from spring-fed wetlands in a California oak savanna.

California State University, Fresno - Agronomy. 1972 - 1974

:: Recent Projects ::
Water quality and quantity affected by species composition at the terrestrial-aquatic interface.

Research examining the effects of climate change on California grasslands has focused on elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Recent work has focused on combinations of elevated CO2, water availability changes, and increased temperature. None have tested both a wet-up and dry-down scenario on both annual grassland and spring-fed wetlands. Spring-fed wetlands have been characterized as transition zones because of their importance in biogeochemical transformations of nutrients flowing from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems. Thus their importance in carbon and nutrient dynamics is disproportionate to their individual size and total area. Our objective is to try and determine the effects of altered moisture regimes on species composition and water quality, and does the shift in available moisture affect the ability of spring-fed wetlands to act as a bio-filter. To this end we are monitoring both potential species change at the terrestrial-aquatic interface and the quantity (cubic feet per second) and quality (NO3 concentrations) of water flowing through spring-fed wetland systems.

Related Links:
Water Quality Information Center
Society for Range Management
California Department of Water Resources
Greenhouse Gas Online

:: Professional Positions and Responsibilities ::
Current position: Research assistant, Jackson Lab.
Land Resources Program
Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison
2004-present

Graduate student researcher
Dr. Barbara Allen-Diaz lab, University of California, Berkeley. 2002 - 2004
Led summer field research team, designed field experiments and performed lab analyses. Wrote protocols for field sampling designs and for lab analysis. Organized and designed databases, performed statistical analyses and prepared manuscripts.

Field/lab assistant
Dr. Barbara Allen-Diaz lab, University of California, Berkeley. 2001 - 2002
Field - Oak woodland, savanna and grassland data collection. Using vegetation transects, collected data on species composition, biomass production and shrub and tree cover. Took soil cores for root respiration calculations and clipped biomass samples to determine residual dry matter. Collected spring-fed wetland data including species composition, biomass production and shrub and tree cover from vegetation transects. Took soil cores to extract nitrate, ammonium and net mineralization rates. Collected water samples for nitrate concentrations and using static vented flow chambers took trace gas samples. Lab - Prepared roots for analysis, (washed and sorted) and prepared and ground soil samples for analysis. Performed KCL extractions and trace gas analysis.

Self employed
Owned and operated Blue Ridge Cabinets. 1976 - 2000
Fabricating custom residential and commercial fixtures and furniture. Employed seven cabinetmakers full time. Responsibilities included scheduling, estimating, lay out using computer software programs, architectural designs and drawings, client meetings, cost and control analysis, payroll, bill paying and employee benefits implementation and administration.

:: Honors, Grants and Fellowships ::
Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin, Madison - O. N. Allen Graduate Scholar Award. 2006

Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley - Regents fellowship. 2003

Xi Sigma Pi Honor Society - University of California, Berkeley. Chapter President (2002 - 2003). 2002 - present

Golden Key International Honor Society - University of California, Berkeley, Chapter. 2002 - present

Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley - Resource Management Departmental Citation. 2002

College of Natural Resources, University of California, Berkeley - Academic Honors. 2002

Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley - Stuart B. Show and Edward I. Kotok Memorial Award. 2002

Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley - Philip N. Knorr Prize for Academic excellence in Forestry. 2002

Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley - Dan Dineen Scholarship in Forestry. 2001

:: Memberships, Clubs and Committees ::
Madison Ecology Group - University of Wisconsin, Madison. Graduate Committee Representative, Land Resources. 2006

Forestry Club - University of California, Berkeley. Club Treasurer (2002 - 2003). 2000 - 2004.

Committee to the Dean on undergraduate curriculum - University of California, Berkeley. 2002

Resource Management representative for undergraduate recruitment - University of California, Berkeley. 2001 - 2002

Society for Range Management. 2000 - present

Society of American Foresters. 2000 - present

Nature Conservancy. 2000 - present

:: Presentations and Class Lectures ::
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. ESPM 116b - Range Ecology, April 9, 2004. Lecture title: Wetland structure and grazing effects on methane emissions from spring-fed wetlands.

University of Wisconsin-Madison. Department of Agronomy. Grassland ecology laboratory presentation, January 9, 2004. Presentation title: The effects of grazing on methane emissions from spring-fed wetlands in a California oak savanna.

Sierra Field Research and Extension Center. Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California. Bi-annual field day research presentation, September 30, 2003. Presentation title: The effects of grazing on methane emissions from spring-fed wetlands in a California oak savanna.

:: Publications ::
Allen-Diaz, B., R. D. Jackson, J. W. Bartolome, K. W. Tate, and L. G. Oates. 2004. Long-term grazing study in spring-fed wetlands reveals management tradeoffs. California Agriculture 58:144-148.

Jackson R.D., B. Allen-Diaz, K. W. Tate and L. G. Oates. In press. Spring-water nitrate increased by grazing removal in a California oak savanna. Ecosystems 9:254-267.

Oates, L.G. 2004 The effects of grazing on methane emissions from spring-fed wetlands in a California oak savanna. Berkeley Scientific Journal. 8(1): 57-61

:: Manuscripts in Preparation ::
Oates, L. G., Jackson R.D. and B. Allen-Diaz. (In prep). Trace gas fluxes from grazed and ungrazed spring-fed wetlands in a Californian oak savanna.

Oates, L. G., Jackson R.D. and B. Allen-Diaz. (In prep). Water quality and quantity affected by species composition at the terrestrial-aquatic interface.

:: Abstracts/Posters ::
Oates, L.G., Radloff A.V., Sowatzke E.A., Jackson R.D., and C.B. DeWitt. 2005. Methane flux from three plant communities in a southern Wisconsin wetland; 26th Annual International Wetlands Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina.

Oates, L.G., Jackson R.D., and B. Allen-Diaz. 2004. Grazing effects on methane emissions and ecosystem function of a spring-fed wetland in a California oak savanna; 89th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Portland, Oregon.

Oates, L.G., Jackson R.D., and B. Allen-Diaz. 2004. The effects of grazing on methane emissions from spring-fed wetlands in a California oak savanna; 57th Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management, Salt Lake City, Utah.