Contact:

USDA NRCS

Jornada Experimental Range

PO Box 30003, MSC 3JER

New Mexico State University

Las Cruces, NM 88003-8003

Tel:  575 646 2854

Email:  joelbrow@nmsu.edu

Dr. Joel Brown is the Terrestrial Sequestration Leader for the SWP and a rangeland ecologist at the Jornada Experimental Range in Las Cruces, New Mexico.   He is assigned to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Soil Survey Center in Lincoln, NE.  His current activities include research and development of land classification systems (Ecological Site Descriptions), carbon sequestration on rangelands (Chicago Climate Exchange Technical Advisory Committee, DOE Southwest Sequestration Partnership Grant PI), and grazing land ecology.  His professional experience includes 5 years as an NRCS Field and Area Range Conservationist in Kansas, 5 years as California NRCS State Rangeland Specialist, 5 years as CSIRO (Australia) Project Leader and Senior Principal Research Scientist, 5 years as NRCS Global Change Leader and Cooperating Scientist with the ARS Jornada Experimental Range.  He is currently the National Leader for Soil Ecology and Ecological Site Inventory. 

Dr. Brown is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Animal and Range Sciences at New Mexico State University.  His primary research interests include: rangeland ecology; application of state and transition models to rangelands; rangeland soil carbon dynamics; shrub invasion; grazing systems; effects of climate change on rangelands and adoption of management practices on rangelands.  Dr. Brown has been instrumental in developing new ecological theories for practical application of rangeland management.  As Special Assistant to the NRCS Chief for Global Change, Dr. Brown also provided technical guidance to USDA on the development of practical methods for evaluating and managing national programs related to greenhouse gases and soil carbon sequestration and he has served as Chair of the Science Advisory Panel, Rangeland Technical Group of the Chicago Climate Exchange.  In 2004, the Society for Rangeland Management recognized Dr. Brown with the Outstanding Achievement Award.

Education:

PhD, Shrub Ecology, Texas A&M University (1987)

MS, Grazing Ecology, Texas A&M University (1983)

BS, Agriculture/Botany, Fort Hays State University (1977)

AA, Barton Community College (1973)

Selected Publications:

Cremers, D., Ebinger, M., Breshears, D., Unkefer, p., Kammerdiener, S., Ferris, M., Catlett, K., and Brown, J.R. 2001. Measuring Total Soil Carbon with Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS): Results from Initial Testing. Journal of Environmental Quality 30: 2202-2206.

Brown, J.R., T. Svejcar, M. Brunson, J. Dobrowolski, E. Fredrickson, U. Krueter, K. Launchbaugh, J. Southworth and T. Thurow. 2002. Are range sites the appropriate spatial unit for measuring and monitoring rangelands? Rangelands 24:7-12.

Brown, J.R. and K.M. Havstad. 2004. Environmental drivers and monitoring of rangelands.  Proceedings of the VIIth International Rangeland Congress.  Durban S.A.

Brown, J.R., G. R. McPherson, R. R. Blank and K. W. Tate. 2005. Rangelands and Global Change: An Issue Paper for the Society for Range Management. 12 pp. Society for Range Management, Denver CO. 

Brown, J.R. and N. Sampson. 2007. Carbon Sequestration. Chapman Conference Proceedings