Sharon A. Billings
Associate Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas
KU - University of Kansas, Dept. of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Billings's KU page
PhD, Soil chemistry, Duke University, 1998
I focus on global-scale perturbations (e.g., changed precipitation patterns and temperature regimes, elevated carbon dioxide, altered nitrogen availability) in an effort to predict how Earth's biogeochemical cycles--and their dependencies on each other--will function in the future.
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CZO Publications
Papers/Books
2020
Working across scales to project soil biogeochemical responses to climate. Billings, S.A., Sullivan, P.L. (2020): In: Yang, Y., Keiluweit, M., Senesi, N., Xing, B., eds. Multi-Scale Biogeochemical Processes in Soil Ecosystems: Critical Reactions and Resilience to Climate Changes, Vol. 5 in IUPAC Series on Biophysico-Chemical Processes in Environmental Systems, Wiley
2020
Persistent anthropogenic legacies structure depth dependence of regenerating rooting systems and their functions. Hauser, Emma, Daniel D. Richter, Daniel Markewitz, Zachary Brecheisen, and Sharon A. Billings (2020): Biogeochemistry 147: 259-275
2020
Soil Signals Tell of Landscape Disturbances. Lohse, K.A., Billings, S.A., DiBiase, R.A., Kumar, P., Berhe, A.A., and Kaye, J. (2020): Eos
2020
Ansichten der Calzone: Views of the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory. Richter, Daniel D., and Sharon A. Billings (2020): In: Critical Zones: The Science and Politics of Landing on Earth, Editors: Bruno Latour & Peter Weibel, ZKM | Center for Art and Media, distributed by The MIT Press
2020
Soil production and the soil geomorphology legacy of Grove Karl Gilbert. Richter, Daniel D., Martha-Cary Eppes, Jason C. Austin, Allan R. Bacon, Sharon A. Billings, Zachary Brecheisen, Terry A. Ferguson, Daniel Markewitz, Julio Pachon, Paul A. Schroeder, Anna M. Wade (2020): Soil Science Society of America Journal 84(1): 1-20
2019
Distinct contributions of eroding and depositional profiles to land-atmosphere CO2 exchange in two contrasting forests. Billings, Sharon A., Daniel de B. Richter, Susan E. Ziegler, Karen Prestegaard, and Anna M. Wade (2019): Frontiers in Earth Science 7: article 36
2019
Ecological and genomic attributes of novel bacterial taxa that thrive in subsurface soil horizons. Brewer, Tess E., Emma L. Aronson, Keshav Arogyaswamy, Sharon A. Billings, Jon K. Botthoff, Ashley N. Campbell, Nicholas C. Dove, Dawson Fairbanks, Rachel E. Gallery, Stephen C. Hart, Jason Kaye, Gary King, Geoffrey Logan, Kathleen A. Lohse, Mia R. Maltz, Emilio Mayorga, Caitlin O’Neill, Sarah M. Owens, Aaron Packman, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Alain F. Plante, Daniel D. Richter, Whendee L. Silver, Wendy H. Yang, Noah Fierer (2019): mBio Oct 2019, 10 (5) e01318-19 Cross-CZO National
2019
A pedology and pedostratigraphy for the Anthropocene . Richter, D.deB., S.A. Billings, C. Waters (2019): In Stratigraphic Signatures of the Anthropocene (Chapter 2) of The Anthropocene as a Geological Time Unit, edited by Jan Zalasiewicz, Colin Waters, Mark Williams, Colin Summerhayes (eds.), Cambridge University Press
2018
Loss of deep roots limits biogenic agents of soil development that are only partially restored by decades of forest regeneration. Billings, S.A., D. Hirmas, P.L. Sullivan, C.A. Lehmeier, S. Bagchi, K. Min, Z. Brecheisen, E. Hauser, R. Stair, R. Flournoy, D. deB. Richter (2018): Elementa Science of the Anthropocene 6(1): 34
2018
Ideas and perspectives: Strengthening the biogeosciences in environmental research networks. Richter, D.D., S.A. Billings, P.M. Groffman, E.F. Kelly, K.A. Lohse, W.H. McDowell, T.S. White, S. Anderson, D.D. Baldocchi, S. Banwart, S. Brantley, J.J. Braun, Z.S. Brecheisen, C.W. Cook, H.E. Hartnett, S.E. Hobbie, J. Gaillardet, E. Jobbagy, H.F. Jungkunst, C.E. Kazanski, J. Krishnaswamy, D. Markewitz, K. O’Neill, C.S. Riebe, P. Schroeder, C. Siebe, W.L. Silver, A. Thompson, A. Verhoef, G. Zhang (2018): Biogeosciences 15: 4815-4832 Cross-CZO National
2016
Aging exo-enzymes can create temporally shifting, temperature-dependent resource landscapes for microbes. Billings, S., K. Min, F. Ballantyne IV, Y. Chen, M. Sellers (2016): Biogeochemistry 131:163-172
2016
Topographic variability and the influence of soil erosion on the carbon cycle. Dialynas, Y. G., S. Bastola., R. L. Bras, S. A. Billings, D. Markewitz, and D. deB. Richter (2016): Global Biogeochemical Cycles 30(5): 644-660
2016
Temperature-mediated changes in microbial carbon use efficiency and 13C discrimination. Lehmeier, C.A., F. Ballantyne IV, K. Min, and S.A. Billings (2016): Biogeosciences 13: 3319-3329
2016
Carbon availability modifies temperature responses of heterotrophic microbial respiration, carbon uptake affinity, and stable carbon isotope discrimination. Min, Kyungjin, Christoph A. Lehmeier, Ford Ballantyne IV, and Sharon A. Billings (2016): Frontiers in Microbiology 7, Article 2083
2015
Investigating microbial transformations of soil organic matter: synthesizing knowledge from disparate fields to guide new experimentation. Billings, S.A., Tiemann, L.K., Ballantyne, F., Lehmeier C.A., Min, K. (2015): Soil 1: 313-330
2015
'One Physical System': Tansley's ecosystem as Earth's critical zone. Richter, D. deB., and S.A. Billings (2015): New Phytologist 206 (3): 900-912
2014
Evolution of Soil, Ecosystem, and Critical Zone Research at the USDA FS Calhoun Experimental Forest. Richter, D. deB., A.R. Bacon, S.A. Billings, D. Binkley, M. Buford, M.A. Callaham, A.E. Curry, R.L. Fimmen, A. S. Grandy, P.R. Heine, M. Hofmockel, J.A. Jackson, E. LeMaster, J. Li, D. Markewitz, M.L. Mobley, M.W. Morrison, M.S. Strickland, T. Waldrop, and C. G. Wells (2014): In: USDA Forest Service Experimental Forests and Ranges: Research for the Long Term, Chapter: 18, Publisher: Springer Verlag, Editors: D.C. Hayes, S.L. Stout, R.H. Crawford, A.P. Hoover, pp. 405-433
2010
A simple method for estimating the influence of eroding soil profiles on atmospheric CO2. Billings, S. A., Buddemeier, R. W., Richter, D. deB., Van Oost, K., and Bohling, G. (2010): Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Vol. 24, GB2001
2006
Changes in stable isotope signatures of soil nitrogen and carbon during 40 years of forest development. Billings, S. A. and Richter, D. D. (2006): Oecologia 148 (2): 325-333
Papers and books that explicitly acknowledge a CZO grant are highlighted in PALE ORANGE.
Other CZO Publications
2019
Anthropogenic Declines in Deep Roots Constrain Deep Soil Organic Carbon Forms and Fluxes. Billings, Sharon A, Pamela L Sullivan, Ligia Souza, Emma Hauser, Terry Loecke, Kyler Lang, Charles W Rice, Daniel Hirmas, Daniel deB. Richter, Alexander Cherkinsky, Daniel Markewitz (2019): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019
2019
Rethinking the Development of the Piedmont Uplands of Southeastern North America: Pleistocene Age Colluvium and Organic-Rich Sediments Dating from Early MIS 3 to MIS 5. Ferguson, Terry A., Allan R Bacon, Martha C Eppes, Daniel deB. Richter, Debra A Willard, Michelle Nelson, Sharon A Billings, Jason Austin (2019): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019
2019
Re-investigation of a colluvially filled valley containing deeply buried organic-rich sediments of pleistocene age, Pauline, South Carolina. Ferguson, Terry A., Allan R. Bacon, Martha C. Eppes, Daniel D. Richter, Debra A. Willard, Sharon A. Billings, Jason C. Austin, Michelle S. Nelson, Alexander Cherkinsky (2019): Geological Society of America Southeastern Section Annual Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, 28–29 March 2019
2019
Rooting Depths Change on a Global Scale in the Anthropocene. Hauser, Emma, Pamela L Sullivan, Sharon A Billings (2019): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019
2019
Modelling the effects of climate-responsive soil parameters on continental-scale hydrologic stores and fluxes in the Community Land Model (CLM) 50. Nash, Caroline, Alejandro N Flores, Pamela L Sullivan, Daniel Hirmas, Sharon A Billings, Li Li, Hang Wen (2019): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019
2019
Do we need to account for dynamic changes in subsurface plumbing to project blue water stocks and fluxes?. Sullivan, Pamela L, Sharon A Billings, Daniel Hirmas, Li Li, Alejandro N Flores, Matthew G Sena, Hang Wen, Morgan Okeson, Caroline Nash, Ligia Souza, Kyler Lang (2019): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA, December 9-13, 2019
2018
Carbon isotopes reveal signals of the Anthropocene in soil carbon pools deep within the critical zone. Billings, S.A., Z.S. Brecheisen, A. Cherkinsky, C.W. Cook, C. Lehmeier, D. deB. Richter (2018): American Geophysical Union 2018 Fall Meeting, Washington, DC, 10-14 Dec 2018
2018
The relative sensitivity of forest productivity to landscape position vs microtopography. Ghasemian, S., J. Kastens, S.A. Billings (2018): American Geophysical Union 2018 Fall Meeting, Washington, DC, 10-14 Dec 2018
2018
Tree carbon investments and soil phosphorus dividends: How do rooting systems maximize P acquisition while being thrifty with their carbon?. Hauser, E., D. deB. Richter, S.A. Billings (2018): American Geophysical Union 2018 Fall Meeting, Washington, DC, 10-14 Dec 2018
2018
Decadal restructuring of soil carbon and nitrogen in a regenerating forest on long cultivated land in the southern piedmont of the USA. Richter, Daniel, Megan Mobley, Sharon Billings, Daniel Markewitz, Anna Wade (2018): North American Forest Soils Conference – International Symposium on Forest Soils, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, June 10-16, 2018
2017
Deep and persistent consequences of long-term changes in land cover. Billings, S.A., Richter, D.D., Sullivan, P.L., Lehmeier, C.A., Bagchi, S., Min, K., Hauser, E., Stair, R., Flournoy, R. (2017): Calhoun CZO 2017 Summer Science Meeting, Union, SC
2017
Soil biogeochemistry reveals the importance of deep roots as biotic controls of CZ evolution: a belowground analog to Ruddiman’s hypothesis. Billings, S.A., Sullivan, P.L., Richter, D.D., Lehmeier, C.A., Min, K., Bagchi, S., Flournoy, R., Hauser, E. (2017): Critical Zone Science: Current Advances and Future Opportunities, Arlington, VA, 4-6 June, 2017
2017
Soil weathering agents are limited where deep tree roots are removed, even after decades of forest regeneration. Billings, Sharon A, Daniel deB. Richter, Daniel Hirmas, Christoph Lehmeier, Samik Bagchi, Zachary Brecheisen, Pamela L Sullivan, Kyungjin Min, Emma Hauser, Rena Stair, Rebecca Flournoy (2017): American Geophysical Union 2017 Fall Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, 11-15 December 2017
2017
Illuminating pathways of forest nutrient provision: relative release from soil mineral and organic pools. Hauser, Emma, and Sharon A Billings (2017): American Geophysical Union 2017 Fall Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, 11-15 December 2017 Cross-CZO
2017
Calhoun CZO as an ancient geobiologic and land-use altered time machine. Richter, D. deB., J. Wang, R. Bras, D. Markewitz, D. Nelson, J. Austin, P. Schroeder, S.A. Billings, K. O’Neill, J. Giesen, W.S. Holbrook, and B. Carr (2017): Critical Zone Science: Current Advances and Future Opportunities, workshop in Arlington, VA, 4-6 June, 2017
2017
Earthcasting controls of vegetation on solute fluxes and soil development in the critical zone. Sullivan, P.L., Goddéris, Y., Li, L., Billings, S., Macpherson, G.L., Shi, Y., Schott, J., Brantley, S.L. (2017): Critical Zone Science: Current Advances and Future Opportunities, Arlington, VA, 4-6 June, 2017 Cross-CZO
2016
Soil C transformations and translocation at the Calzone. Billings, S.A. (2016): Calhoun CZO 2016 Summer Science Meeting, Clinton, SC
2016
Scaling from small-scale experiments to the Critical Zone to explain ecosystem patterns of soil organic C dynamics. Billings, S.A. (2016): Seminar at Kansas State University, May 2016
2016
Projecting soil feedbacks to atmospheric CO2 following erosion and deposition on centennial timescales in two contrasting forests: A study of critical zone-atmosphere exchange. Billings, S.A., D. Richter, S.E. Ziegler, K.L. Prestegaard (2016): American Geophysical Union 2016 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
2016
Biomass-C specific temperature responses of microbial C transformations reveal consistency regardless of microbial community structure across diverse timescales of inquiry. Min, K., K.M. Buckeridge, S.E. Ziegler, K.A. Edwards, S. Bagchi, S.A. Billings (2016): American Geophysical Union 2016 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
2016
Rapid turnover and minimal accretion of mineral soil carbon during 60-years of pine forest growth on previously cultivated land. Richter, D., M.L. Mobley, S.A. Billings, and D. Markewitz (2016): American Geophysical Union 2016 Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
2015
Scaling from small-scale experiments to the Critical Zone to explain ecosystem patterns of soil organic C dynamics. Billings, S., Lehmeier, C., Min, K., Flournoy, R., & Richter, D. (2015): Cross CZO Working Group on Organic Matter Dynamics with Sino-US partners, Purdue University
2015
Small-scale experiments in diverse ecosystem highlight intricate linkages between microbial behavior and ecosystem-scale processes. Billings, S., Wood, T., Buckeridge, K., Min, K., Lehmeier, C., Flournoy, R., Huang, Z., Ziegler, S., Richter, D., Pett-Ridge, J., Brodie, E., Bouskill, N. (2015): Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD
2015
The dependence on topography of the influence of soil erosion and deposition on the carbon cycle at the Calhoun Critical Zone Observatory. Bras, R.; Dialynas, Y.; Billings, S.; Richter, D.; Markewitz, D. (2015): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 2015, San Francisco, CA
2015
A Coupled Spatially Explicit Modelling Approach to Assess the Influence of Soil Erosion and Deposition on the Redistribution of Soil Organic Carbon at the Watershed Scale. Dialynas, Y. G., Bastola, S., Bras, R. L., Billings, S. A., Richter, D. deB., and Markewitz, D. (2015): 2nd Annual Southeastern Biogeochemistry Symposium, Atlanta, GA, Mar. 28-29, 2015
2015
Topographic variability in the influence of soil erosion on the carbon cycle. Dialynas, Y. G., Bastola, S., Bras, R. L., Billings, S. A., Richter, D. deB., and Markewitz, D. (2015): Calhoun CZO 2015 Summer Science Meeting
2015
Is δ13C of respired CO2 dependent on growth rate? Exploring carbon isotope discrimination in soil microbes. Lehmeier, C. A., Min, K. J., Billings, S. A. (2015): Calhoun CZO 2015 Summer Science Meeting
2015
Effects of temperature on microbial transformation of organic matter - comparing stories told by purified enzyme assays, chemostat experiments and soils. Lehmeier, C.; Min, K.; Good, H.; Billings, S. (2015): American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 2015, San Francisco, CA
2015
How deep and persistent are the influences of aboveground disturbance on soil microbial activities at the Calhoun CZO?. Min, K. J., Lehmeier, C. A., Billings, S. A. (2015): Calhoun CZO 2015 Summer Science Meeting
2015
"One Physical System": Tansley's Ecosystem Concept as Earth's Critical Zone. Richter, D. deB., and Billings, S. A. (2015): Calhoun CZO 2015 Summer Science Meeting
2015
One physical system: Tansley's ecosystems as Earth's critical zone. Richter, D., Billings, S. (2015): Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD
2014
Guiding empirical and theoretical explorations of organic matter decay using disparate fields. Billings, S., Ballantyne, F., Lehmeier, C., Min, K. (2014): American Geophysical Union annual meeting, San Francisco, California, December, 2014
2014
Temperature and substrate C:N drive microbial carbon use efficiency and 13C discrimination. Billings, S., Lehmeier, C., Min, K., Ballantyne, F. (2014): Soil Science Society of America annual meeting, Long Beach, California, November, 2014
2014
Assessing the impact of landscape evolution on carbon dynamics: a coupled physically-based modelling approach. Dialynas, Y. G.; Bastola, S.; Billings, S. A.; Bras, R. L. (2014): American Geophysical Union annual meeting, San Francisco, California, December, 2014
2014
Ecosystem and geoscientists to hybridize their sciences. Richter, D., Billings, S. (2014): American Geophysical Union annual meeting, San Francisco, California, December, 2014
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Models
tRIBS-ECO
Triangulated Irregular Network-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator-Erosion and C Oxidatition
Spatially- and depth-explicit physically-based model of hydro-geomorphic processes and of soil organic carbon dynamics.
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News
Elevating the biogeosciences within environmental research networks
02 Mar 2018 - This manuscript, led by Dan Richter with six Calzones co-authors, was just submitted to Biogeosciences Discussions.
Eight new soil pits dug at the Calhoun!
17 Oct 2016 - Eight soil pits were installed at the Calhoun CZO on 17-18 October 2016 for easy access for soil sampling down to 2 meters. Photo: Will Cook.
CZ Science at Goldschmidt 2016, Yokohama
08 Feb 2016 - Yokohama, Japan. 26 June - 01 July, 2016. All aspects of geochemistry and related fields. Multiple sessions related to Critical Zone science.
Richter & Billings publish on Tansley’s ecosystem as Earth’s critical zone
19 Mar 2015 - Richter and Billings state the congruence of Tansley’s ecosystem concept with Earth’s critical zone.
Cross-CZO activities
23 Jul 2014 - 1) Aaron Thompson is leading CCZO researchers in cooperating with other CZOs (notably Luquillo) to facilitate cross-CZO research to investigate the...
Introducing Calhoun CZO
03 Mar 2014 - The Calhoun CZO seeks to understand how Earth’s Critical Zones respond to and recover from severe erosion and land degradation.
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