Benjamin Harlow

• RD Evans, A Koyama, DL Sonderegger, TN Charlet, BA Newingham, LF Fenstermaker, B Harlow, VL Jin, K Ogle, SD Smith, RS Nowak. Greater ecosystem carbon in the Mojave Desert after ten years exposure to elevated CO2. Nature Climate Change 4 (5), 394-397.
• A Koyama, B Harlow, RD Evans. Greater soil carbon and nitrogen in a Mojave Desert ecosystem after 10 years exposure to elevated CO2. Geoderma 355, 113915.
• A Koyama, B Harlow, CR Kuske, J Belnap, RD Evans. Plant and microbial biomarkers suggest mechanisms of soil organic carbon accumulation in a Mojave Desert ecosystem under elevated CO2. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 120, 48-57.
• BA Harlow, JD Marshall, AP Robinson. A multi-species comparison of δ13C from whole wood, extractive-free wood and holocellulose. Tree Physiology 26 (6), 767-774.
• BA Harlow, RA Duursma, JD Marshall. Leaf longevity of western red cedar (Thuja plicata) increases with depth in the canopy. Tree physiology 25 (5), 557-562.
• Maria OL Cambaliza, Benjamin A Harlow, Nerea Ubierna, George H Mount, John D Marshall, R David Evans. Analysis of low‐concentration gas samples with continuous‐flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry: eliminating sources of contamination to achieve high precision. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.

As senior technical engineer at the Deep Soil Ecotron (DSE), I’m particularly interested in the capacity for real-time experimental manipulation at levels never seen before in soil science, ecology or other ecotrons. There are many critical systems required to support these experiments, ranging from chilled water supply, optical analyzers and interfacing where Ben is excited to put all of his skills to work.

Ben has a strong background with environmental measurements and the instrumentation that provides such data. Ben received training from John Marshall in ecophysiology and biogeochemistry which he used to develop a successful Stable Isotope Analysis Facility at Washington State University where he was lab manager for 17 years before joining the DSE team in 2022. He has expertise in designing and developing research methodologies, data analysis and database management, ensuring quality control and diagnosis/repair of specialized equipment. Thinking about all the details that go into measurements, data and analytical systems are areas that Ben takes seriously. He has created new solutions to research questions through customization, fabrication and collaboration which will be most valuable at the DSE.

When not keeping ecotrons running, Ben enjoys working on his small hobby farm or partaking in a range of outdoor activities, regardless of the season.

• Outstanding Staff Peer Mentor, Washington State University School of Biological Sciences.
• Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide inferred from carbon stable isotopes of tree rings: Response variation due to elevation and species. Stillinger foundation. $23,395 (with John D. Marshall)
• Outstanding graduate student, University of Idaho Forest Resources