Colleen Iversen

Bio

About me

I am the Director of the NGEE Arctic project, a lead investigator of the Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED), and I previously led the Belowground Tasks component of the SPRUCE project. I am also an Editor at the international plant journal New Phytologist and an elected Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, and I was a member of the inaugural cohort of ‘New Voices’ at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. I grew up exploring the fields and farms of mid-Michigan, and I received my BS at Hope College. I continued to move southward for my graduate work, receiving my MS at the University of Notre Dame and my PhD at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. I see science communication as the foundation for a shared understanding of society’s future, and I have shared my scientific vision on Public Radio International’s ‘Science Friday’, and in the Alda School’s ‘Flame Challenge’, as well as in organized symposia, sessions, and workshops. For more information, visit www.colleeniversen.com and https://colleeniversen.ornl.gov. 

Recent publications of interest

Please see http://www.colleeniversen.com/publications.html for more publications!

Berner LT, Orndahl KM, Rose M, Tamstorf M, Arndal MF, Alexander HD, Humphreys ER, Loranty MM, Ludwig SM, Nyman J, Juutinen S, Aurela M, Happonen K, Mikola J, Mack MC, Vankoughnett MR, Iversen CM, Salmon VG, Yang D, Kumar J, Grogan P, Danby RK, Scott NA, Olofsson J, Siewert MB, Deschamps L, Levesque E, Maire V, Morneault A, Gauthier G, Gignac C, Boudreau S, Gaspard A, Kholodov A, Bret-Harte MS, Greaves HE, Walker D, Gregory FM, Michelsen A, Kumpula T, Villoslada M, Ylanne H, Luoto M, Virtanen T, Forbes BC, Holzel N, Epstein H, Heim RJ, Bunn A, Holmes RM, Hung JKY, Natali SM, Virkkala A, Goetz SJ. 2024. The arctic plant aboveground biomass synthesis dataset. Scientific Data 11: 305.

Duchesneau K, Defrenne CE, Petro C, Malhotra A, Moore JAM, Childs J, Hanson PJ, Iversen CM, Kostka JE. 2024. Responses of vascular plant fine roots and associated microbial communities to whole-ecosystem warming and elevated CO2 in northern peatlands. New Phytologist 242: 1333–1347.

Norby RJ, Warren JM, Iversen CM, Walker AP, Childs J. 2024. Getting allometry right at the Oak Ridge Free-Air CO2 Enrichment experiment: Old problems and new opportunities for global change experiments. Plants, People, Planet 6: 1480–1489. 

Seethepalli A, Ottley C, Childs J, Cope K, Fine AK, Lagergren JH, Kalluri U, Iversen CM, York LM. 2024. Divide and conquer: Using RhizoVision Explorer to aggregate data from multiple root scans using image concatenation and statistical methods. New Phytologist, early view.

​Iversen CM, Latimer J, Brice DJ, Childs J, Vander Stel HM, Graham J, Griffiths N, Malhotra A, Norby RJ, Olehieser K, Phillips J, Salmon VG, Sebestyen SD, Yang X, Hanson PJ. 2023. Whole-ecosystem warming increases plant-available nitrogen and phosphorus in the SPRUCE bog. Ecosystems 26: 86-113. Highlighted here ​by the Department of Energy's Office of Science!

Wang B, McCormack ML, Ricciuto D, Yang X, Iversen CM. 2023. Embracing fine-root system complexity to improve the predictive understanding of ecosystem functioning. Global Change Biology 29: 2871 – 2885. See a commentary of Bin’s paper here!

Weber S, Iversen CM. 2023. How deep should we go to understand roots at the top of the world? New Phytologist, Early View. This was a Commentary on the very cool paper by Blume-Werry et al. 2023 on predicting Arctic rooting depth distribution. 

Weigelt A, Mommer L, Andraczek K, Iversen CM, Bergmann J, Bruelheide H, Freschet GT, Guerrero-Ramírez NR, Kattge J, Kuyper TW, Laughlin DC, Meier IC, van der Plas F, Poorter H, Roumet C, van Ruijven J, Maria Sabatini F, Semchenko M, Sweeney CJ, Valverde-Barrantes OJ, York LM, McCormack ML. 2023. The importance of trait selection in ecology. Nature (Matters Arising), 618: E29-E30. 

Defrenne CE, Childs J,  Fernandez CW, Taggart M,  Nettles WR, Allen MF,  Hanson PJ, Iversen CM. 2021. High‐resolution minirhizotrons advance our understanding of root‐fungal dynamics in an experimentally warmed peatland. Plants People Planet 3: 640 - 652. Part of a Special Issue on Mycorrhizas for a Changing World. 

Freschet GT, Pagès L, Iversen CM, et al. 2021. A starting guide to root ecology: strengthening ecological concepts and standardizing root classification, sampling, processing and trait measurements. New Phytologist 232: 973 - 1122.

Iversen CM, McCormack ML. 2021. Filling gaps in our understanding of belowground plant traits across the world: An introduction to a Virtual Issue. New Phytologist 231: 2097 - 2103. This is an introduction to a Virtual Special Issue that highlights new belowground understanding gained from more than 40 awesome papers published in New Phytologist over just the last 2 years! 

Weigelt A, Mommer L, Andraczek K, Iversen CM, et al. 2021. An integrated framework of plant form and function: The belowground perspective. New Phytologist 232: 42 - 59. 

Bergman J, Weigelt A, van der Plas F, Laughlin DC, Kuyper TW, Guerrero-Ramirez N, Valverde-Barrantes OJ, Bruelheide H, Freschet GT, Iversen CM et al. 2020. The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants. Science Advances 6: eaba3756. 

Iversen CM, Bolton WR, Rogers A, Wilson CJ, Wullschleger SD. 2020. Building a culture of safety and trust in team science. Eos 101. 

Malhotra A, Brice D, Childs J, Graham JD, Hobbie EA, Vander Stel H, Feron SC, Hanson PJ, Iversen CM. 2020. Peatland warming strongly increases fine-root growth. PNAS 117: 17627 - 17634. Highlighted by Science Magazine, and also here by ORNL!

Iversen CM. 2019. New Phytologist Associate Editor Profile. New Phytologist 223: 530 - 531. 

Iversen CM, Childs J, Norby RJ, Ontl TA, Kolka RK, Brice DJ, McFarlane KJ, Hanson PJ. 2018. Fine-root growth in a forested bog is seasonally dynamic, but shallowly distributed in nutrient-poor peat. Plant and Soil 424: 123-143.

Iversen CM, McCormack ML, Powell AS, Blackwood CB, Freschet GT, Kattge J, Roumet C, Stover DB, Soudzilovskaia NA, Valverde-Barrantes OJ, van Bodegom PM, Violle C. 2017. Viewpoints: A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address belowground challenges in plant ecology. New Phytologist 215: 15-26.

Iversen CM, Sloan VL, Sullivan PF, Euskirchen ES, McGuire AD, Norby RJ, Walker AP, Warren JM, Wullschleger SD. 2015. The unseen iceberg: Plant roots in arctic tundra (Tansley Review). New Phytologist 205: 34-58.

McCormack ML, Dickie IA, Eissenstat DM, Fahey TJ, Fernandez CW, Guo D, Helmisaari H-S, Hobbie EA, Iversen CM, et al. 2015. Redefining fine roots improves understanding of below-ground contributions to terrestrial biosphere processes (Tansley Review). New Phytologist 207: 505-518.

Professional Experience

Director, NGEE Arctic project (2023 - Present)
Funded by: Biological and Environmental Research program
Office of Science, United States DOE

Deputy Director, NGEE Arctic project (2021 - 2023)
Funded by: Biological and Environmental Research program
Office of Science, United States DOE

​​Group Leader, Plant - Soil Interactions Group (2020 - Present)
Environmental Sciences Division 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Awards

Please see http://www.colleeniversen.com/honorsandawards.html for more information!

ORNL Women's Alliance Council  2024 Award for Sustained Inclusive Leadership
'For visionary leadership that extends beyond conventional boundaries, building a culture of trust and safety, and fostering interdisciplinary links between science, art, and community.'

Highly Cited Researcher, Web of Science Group, Clarivate Analytics​​ (2019 - 2023)
‘In recognition of exceptional research performance demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% for field and year in Cross-Field or Plant and Animal Science.’

Exemplifying Oak Ridge National Laboratory Core Values:

• Safety. Colleen showcased NGEE Arctic's culture of safety and inclusion in an invited talk to the DOE Biological and Environmental Research Advisory Committee (BERAC) in October 2023.
• Impact. NGEE Arctic showcased their scientific achievements to Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, climate scientist and head of the DOE's Office of Science, on a visit to Utqiaġvik, Alaska in September 2023.

Science Communicator Award, UT-Battelle Awards Night (2019)
‘In recognition of Colleen’s many contributions to science communication and outreach, and to her ability to present science in a compelling manner to audiences of all ages.'

Director’s Award for Outstanding Individual Accomplishment in Mission Support, UT-Battelle Awards Night (2019)
‘Among the many achievements recognized at the 2019 UT-Battelle Awards Night, yours was selected as an exceptional contribution to our success.'

Inaugural cohort, New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018 - 2020)
'The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are launching the 'New Voices in Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine' initiative to identify outstanding early-career science, engineering, and medicine (SEM) leaders. They will engage in communicating the evidence base for addressing national and global challenges to provide new perspectives on issues of importance to the community represented by the National Academies, and to help identify ways to expand the diversity of expertise that is brought to all of the Academies' convening and advisory activities.'

Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (2017 - 2021)
'Elected for her leadership and creativity in linking experimentation and modeling to advance ecological understanding of the influence of fine plant roots on the fate of vast pools of carbon and nutrients held in the soils of diverse biomes.'​

Stanley I. Auerbach Early-Career Award for ​Excellence in Environmental Sciences (2012)
​Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Finalist in New Phytologist Tansley Medal competition (2010)
Digging deeper: Fine-root responses to rising atmospheric CO2 concentration in forested ecosystems'.
Highlighted in ‘The New Phytologist Tansley medal’

Distinguished Achievement Award for Post-Graduate Research (2010)
Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Education

​Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville (2003 - 2008)
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Co-advisors: Richard J. Norby and Aimee T. Classen
Dissertation: Forest responses to rising atmospheric CO2: Causes and consequences of increased fine-root production in a CO2-enriched sweetgum plantation

​​M.S., University of Notre Dame (2001 - 2004)
Biological Sciences
Advisor: Scott D. Bridgham
Thesis: Scaling community nitrogen use- and uptake efficiencies in response to increased nutrient availability in peatlands

B.S. (cum laude), Hope College (1997 - 2001)
Biological and Environmental Sciences

Professional Service

http://www.colleeniversen.com/professionalactivities.html 

Editor (2023 - Present​)
New Phytologist

Reviewer

Acta Oecologica; Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment; Annals of Botany; AoB PLANTS; Biogeosciences; Biology and Fertility of Soils; Biological Invasions; Canadian Journal of Forest Research; Climate Change Responses; Ecology; Ecology Letters; Ecosphere; Global Biogeochemical Cycles; Global Change Biology; Global Ecology and Biogeography; Journal of Ecology; Journal of Geophysical Research – Biogeosciences; Marine Ecology Progress Series; National Geographic Society; Nature; New Phytologist; Oecologia; Plant Physiology; Plant and Soil; Polar Science; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; Soil Biology and Biochemistry; Soil Science Society of America Journal; Tree Physiology; National Science Foundation; National Institute for Climate Change Research; Department of Energy, Office of Science.

Leadership program attendee

Alda-Kavli Leadership Program ‘Science Communication Workshop’, conducted by the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in November 2016. 

Organizer

• ‘Roots in Models’ workshop held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, USA in June 2014, and funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Science.
• ​‘Advancing minirhizotron use to examine ephemeral root dynamics in peatland and high carbon ecosystems’. Small workshop hosted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in October 2010, and funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Science and New Phytologist Trust.

Co-Organizer

• ‘Bridging the Gap Between Fine-Root and Fungal Functional Traits’. Organized Oral Session at the annual Ecological Society of America, Virtual Meeting, August 2020. Part of the ‘Ecology Underground’.
• ‘A path forward for improved representation of fine roots in large-scale models: Linking models, data, and experiments’. Organized Oral Session at the annual Ecological Society of America meeting, August 2014, in Sacramento, CA, USA.
• ​‘Missing links in the root-soil organic matter continuum’. Organized Oral Session at the annual Ecological Society of America meeting, August 2009 in Albuquerque, NM, USA.

Organizing Committee Member

• 'Integrated Ecosystem Experiments to Advance Earth System Predictability Workshop'
• 'Department of Energy's Climate Communication Workshop'
• America Geophysical Union, Biogeosciences Section: Safety Series 2022, on-line events.
• ‘Trait-Based Methods for Representing Change in Belowground Ecosystems’, Ignite Session at Ecological Society of America annual meeting, August, 2017, Portland, Oregon, USA.
• 39th New Phytologist Symposium. ‘Trait covariation: Structural and functional relationships in plant ecology’, June 2017 in Exeter, UK.
• ‘DOE workshop on trait methods for representing ecosystem change’, held in Rockville, MD, USA in November 2015, and funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Science.
• ‘Scaling Root Processes: Global Impacts’ workshop held in Washington, DC, USA, in March 2012 and funded by the Department of Energy, Office of Science.

Panelist​

• Panelist and Mentor, New Phytologist Next Generation Scientists 2024, Durham, NC, 6-8 June 2024.
• ORNL, Ethics Awareness Month, Scientific Integrity Panel (Authorship) (17 August 2022)​.
• ORNL, Women Empowered through Business (WEB) Institute luncheon (14 July 2022).
• ORNL, Corporate Fellows Council’s Professional Development Seminar Series (27 May 2022).
• ORNL, ‘Boost your Network and Career’ (11 January 2022).

Session Leader

• America Geophysical Union, Biogeosciences Section Safety Series Event #5 - Tabletop Scenarios: Raise awareness and exchange ideas about real-life situations that may occur in the field, July 28 2022. 
• 'Self-sabotage and the imposter phenomenon in high-achieving women' at the annual Women's Leadership Workshop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2021. 

Society Member

American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Geophysical Union, Ecological Society of America.

Post-Doctoral Advisees

• Sören Weber (2022 – Present)
• Camille Defrenne (2019 – 2021)
• Avni Malhotra (2016 – 2018)
• Verity Salmon (2016 – 2019)                                 

Doctoral Dissertation Committees

• Kristine Cabugao (2016 – 2020)
• Tyler d'Entremont (2023 – ) 
• Katherine Duchesneau (2023 – )
• Mallory Ladd (2016 – 2018)
• Zach Langford (2016 – 2017)
• Tyler Poppenwimer (2017 – 2020)
• Ella Segal (2023 – ) 
• Ingrid Slette (2016 – 2021)
• Daniela Yaffar (2016 – 2018)​

IARPC Collaborations Mentoring Program (2023 – 2024)
​Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee

Professional Affiliations

Distinguished Staff Scientist (2022 - Present)
Environmental Sciences Division 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Senior Staff Scientist ​​(2016 - 2022)
Environmental Sciences Division ​ 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Staff Scientist (2012 - 2016)
Environmental Sciences Division ​ 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Associate Staff Scientist (2010 - 2012)
Environmental Sciences Division ​ 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

​Post-doctoral research associate (2008 - 2010)
Environmental Sciences Division ​
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Publications