Irena Creed | |
---|---|
Alma mater | University of Toronto (BS, MS, PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Hydrology, Biogeochemistry, Watershed Sciences, Climate Change, Planetary health, Ecosystem Services |
Institutions | University of Toronto, University of Saskatchewan, Western University, UNU Institute for Water, Environment and Health, Egerton University |
Thesis | Topographic regulation of nitrate-N export from catchments within an old-growth sugar maple forest in the Turkey Lakes Watershed, central Ontario, Canada Thesis. |
Irena Creed is a Canadian hydrologist. She is the Vice-Principal for Research and Innovation at University of Toronto Scarborough in Toronto, Canada, and was formerly the Associate Vice-President for Research at the University of Saskatchewan, [1] and the Executive Director of the University of Saskatchewan's School of Environment and Sustainability [2] in Saskatoon, Canada. Creed studies the impacts of global climate change on ecosystem functions and services, often focusing on the hydrology of freshwater wetlands and catchments.
Creed did her undergraduate and graduate studies at the University of Toronto. She graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology with a minor in Botany. She then went on to pursue a Master of Science in Botany and Environmental Sciences, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Geography. Creed then became a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Alberta, where she studied forest management strategies and their impacts on surrounding ecosystems.
From 1998 to 2017, Creed was a professor at Western University in London, Canada in the Biology and Geography departments. From 2007 to 2017, Creed held a Canada Research Chair in Watershed Sciences at Western University. From 2008 to 2009, she served as the Acting Director of Western University's Centre for Environment and Sustainability. From 2013 to 2017, she served as the Associate Chair of Research in the Biology department of Western University. From 2014 to 2017, she served as the Director of the Africa Institute at Western University, of which she was a Founding Fellow.
In 2017, Creed became a professor at the University of Saskatchewan's School of Environment and Sustainability and the School's Executive Director. [1] In 2019, she became the Associate Vice-President for Research at the University of Saskatchewan before taking the position of Vice-Principal for Research and Innovation at University of Toronto Scarborough in 2021. [3] Creed remains an adjunct professor at Western University and the University of Saskatchewan and also holds adjunct appointments at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health [4] [5] and the Department of Environmental Sciences at Egerton University in Nakuru, Kenya.
From 2013 to 2015, Creed was awarded a Visiting Female Professorship [6] at Umeå University in Umeå, Sweden. In 2019, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Agricultural Sciences [7] from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden, and was elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). [8] She was a recipient of the RSC's Bancroft Award in 2020 for outstanding contributions in earth sciences. [9] In 2022, Creed was elected a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union. From 2022 to 2024, she held the distinguished Wallenberg Professorship awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry for contributions to the recognition and promotion of wetlands as nature-based climate solutions.
Creed's research is based in planetary health, both locally and globally. Specifically, Creed focuses on hydrology and the impacts of water on surrounding terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Her work is often focused on involving water more in discussions of forest management. [10]
Creed has served on numerous Canadian and international advisory boards, panels, delegations and committees, including for the Canadian Wetlands Roundtable, the Government of Alberta Ministry of Environment and Protected Areas, Alberta Innovates, the International Joint Commission, and United Nations High-Level Political Forums on Sustainable Development. She served as a panel member in an American Geophysical Union (AGU) discussion at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). [11] From 2019 to 2021, Creed served as the Special Advisor to the President on Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan where she helped prepare the University´s Institutional Sustainability Strategy, [12] [13] which was approved in 2021.
Creed has led numerous projects involving collaborations with Canadian and international researchers, including several funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. From 2010 to 2015, she led researchers from the United States and Canada in the Great Lakes Futures Project, [14] a multi-institutional effort to make predictions on possible futures of share water resources in the Great Lakes basin and to help develop strategies for water resource management. From 2013 to 2018, Creed led a collaboration of Canadian researchers and industrial and government partners in the Boreal 2050 Project to train graduate students and develop knowledge about ecosystem functions in the Boreal ecosystem of Canada. Creed also collaborates internationally, participating in numerous international panels and delegations and in multiple international reports including a scientific synthesis report based on contributions from more than 50 scientists around the world on the links between water and forests for the Global Forest Expert Panel of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations [15] which was presented at the 2018 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. [16] Creed is currently leading an international collaboration of researchers and industrial and government partners in several projects funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada to develop and advance knowledge of wetlands as nature-based climate solutions.
Creed has authored or co-authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications including articles, book chapters, and books, many of which were invited. Creed has delivered over 100 invited, keynote, or plenary presentations and has contributed to over 300 other presentations at Canadian and international conferences, workshops, and meetings.
Creed has studied the hydrologic effects of nutrient cycling in forest ecosystems. Using unique suite of methodologies and statistics, Creed and her lab discovered the variation of nutrient sources areas in catchments and where changes in the soil redox environment affect the exchange of greenhouse gases from and into the atmosphere. [17] This information was previously unknown to scientists, specifically that summer storms cause nitrogen to release into the atmosphere, [18] [19] explaining why catchments are often missing expected nitrogen in summer months [20] [21] while snow-covered soils are an important source of nitrogen production that is not accounted for or monitored. [22] Creed has shared this work both with other scientists as well as with policymakers who work on forest management.
Creed has made a significant impact on the Great Lakes Region with her work on risk management, which combined science and policy. [23] This work utilized International Organization of Standardization (ISO) tools in order to gain a better understanding of the risks associated with natural resource extraction in the region. Creed has used ISO tools in other work as well in order to assess risk in ecosystem management techniques in a changing climate. [24]
Creed has led two reviews that set research agendas for improving the scientific understanding of global change effects on freshwaters, focusing on hydrological and biogeochemical processes controlling the downstream movement of from headwaters to large rivers, proposing a conceptual model explaining the observation that rivers show a tendency towards chemostats, [25] and examining the effects of global changes on the browning of lakes. [26]
Creed was part of a team of international scientists who reviewed existing understanding of pressures on the world's freshwater ecosystems in the face of a global freshwater aquatic biodiversity crisis, and documented twelve new or intensifying threats to these ecosystems including global climate change and harmful algal blooms in a highly cited peer-reviewed article in Biological Reviews. [27] Creed has published numerous articles in her studies to identify many of the conditions that provide cyanobacteria a competitive advantage over other algae, [28] [29] including higher temperatures, hydrological intensification, and iron limitations, [30] [31] which give rise to harmful algal blooms in northern temperate forest lakes.
Creed has also worked with American scientists to synthesize data to highlight the importance of enhancing protection for small streams and wetlands that form a large majority of the world's freshwater ecosystems but are the most vulnerable to loss or degradation, showing that these vulnerable waters are needed to maintain ecosystem functions and services upon which society depends. Aspects of this argument were presented in a series of high impact peer-reviewed articles urging policy makers to develop management strategies that recognize and protect these vulnerable waters. [32] [33] [34] [35]
A biome is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. A biome encompasses multiple ecosystems within its boundaries. It can also comprise a variety of habitats.
An ecoregion is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural communities and species. The biodiversity of flora, fauna and ecosystems that characterise an ecoregion tends to be distinct from that of other ecoregions. In theory, biodiversity or conservation ecoregions are relatively large areas of land or water where the probability of encountering different species and communities at any given point remains relatively constant, within an acceptable range of variation . Ecoregions are also known as "ecozones", although that term may also refer to biogeographic realms.
Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of microorganisms that may deplete the water of oxygen. Although eutrophication is a natural process, manmade or cultural eutrophication is far more common and is a rapid process caused by a variety of polluting inputs including poorly treated sewage, industrial wastewater, and fertilizer runoff. Such nutrient pollution usually causes algal blooms and bacterial growth, resulting in the depletion of dissolved oxygen in water and causing substantial environmental degradation.
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently for years or decades or seasonally for a shorter periods. Flooding results in oxygen-free anoxic processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from terrestrial land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants, adapted to the unique anoxic hydric soils. Wetlands are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal species. Methods for assessing wetland functions, wetland ecological health, and general wetland condition have been developed for many regions of the world. These methods have contributed to wetland conservation partly by raising public awareness of the functions some wetlands provide. Constructed wetlands are designed and built to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as to divert stormwater runoff. Constructed wetlands may also play a role in water-sensitive urban design.
Limnology is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, reservoirs, ponds, rivers, springs, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. Water systems are often categorized as either running (lotic) or standing (lentic).
Resource depletion is the consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished. Natural resources are commonly divided between renewable resources and non-renewable resources. The use of either of these forms of resources beyond their rate of replacement is considered to be resource depletion. The value of a resource is a direct result of its availability in nature and the cost of extracting the resource. The more a resource is depleted the more the value of the resource increases. There are several types of resource depletion, the most known being: Aquifer depletion, deforestation, mining for fossil fuels and minerals, pollution or contamination of resources, slash-and-burn agricultural practices, soil erosion, and overconsumption, excessive or unnecessary use of resources.
Freshwater ecosystems are a subset of Earth's aquatic ecosystems. They include lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, springs, bogs, and wetlands. They can be contrasted with marine ecosystems, which have a larger salt content. Freshwater habitats can be classified by different factors, including temperature, light penetration, nutrients, and vegetation. There are three basic types of freshwater ecosystems: Lentic, lotic and wetlands. Freshwater ecosystems contain 41% of the world's known fish species.
A tidal marsh is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean. Tidal marshes experience many overlapping persistent cycles, including diurnal and semi-diurnal tides, day-night temperature fluctuations, spring-neap tides, seasonal vegetation growth and decay, upland runoff, decadal climate variations, and centennial to millennial trends in sea level and climate.
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".
Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are found in a range of climate zones, from boreal through temperate and subtropical to tropical.
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of salinity. To survive fresh water, the fish need a range of physiological adaptations.
Human impact on the nitrogen cycle is diverse. Agricultural and industrial nitrogen (N) inputs to the environment currently exceed inputs from natural N fixation. As a consequence of anthropogenic inputs, the global nitrogen cycle (Fig. 1) has been significantly altered over the past century. Global atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) mole fractions have increased from a pre-industrial value of ~270 nmol/mol to ~319 nmol/mol in 2005. Human activities account for over one-third of N2O emissions, most of which are due to the agricultural sector. This article is intended to give a brief review of the history of anthropogenic N inputs, and reported impacts of nitrogen inputs on selected terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
William Mitsch is an ecosystem ecologist and ecological engineer who was co-laureate of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize in August 2004 as a result of a career in wetland ecology and restoration, ecological engineering, and ecological modelling.
Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial factor in shaping plant community, biodiversity, metabolic processes and ecosystem dynamics for montane ecosystems. Dense montane forests are common at moderate elevations, due to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. At higher elevations, the climate is harsher, with lower temperatures and higher winds, preventing the growth of trees and causing the plant community to transition to montane grasslands and shrublands or alpine tundra. Due to the unique climate conditions of montane ecosystems, they contain increased numbers of endemic species. Montane ecosystems also exhibit variation in ecosystem services, which include carbon storage and water supply.
The effects of climate change in Saskatchewan are now being observed in parts of the province. There is evidence of reduction of biomass in Saskatchewan's boreal forests that is linked by researchers to drought-related water stress stemming from global warming, most likely caused by greenhouse gas emissions. While studies, as early as 1988 have shown that climate change will affect agriculture, whether the effects can be mitigated through adaptations of cultivars, or crops, is less clear. Resiliency of ecosystems may decline with large changes in temperature. The provincial government has responded to the threat of climate change by introducing a plan to reduce carbon emissions, "The Saskatchewan Energy and Climate Change Plan", in June 2007.
A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. Like coral reefs, peatlands are unusual landforms that derive mostly from biological rather than physical processes, and can take on characteristic shapes and surface patterning.
Nancy Tuchman is an American environmental scientist, educator, and activist. She specializes on human impacts on aquatic ecosystem function, with a focus on coastal Great Lake ecosystems. Tuchman is dedicated to raising public awareness about issues of global climate change and education. Her dedication is shown through her thirty years of educating students in environmental sciences at Loyola University Chicago. In 2013 she founded the Institute of Environmental Sustainability on Loyola University's campus - which later became the School of Environmental Sustainability in late 2020 - and is a driver of environmental change and progress in the Chicago area.
Petra Döll is a German hydrologist whose work focuses on modeling global water resources. She is a professor of hydrology and researcher at the Institute of Physical Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt.
Nandita Basu is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology at the University of Waterloo. Her research is centered on anthropogenic effects on water availability and quality via changes in land use and climate. Basu is recognized for her work on discovering the impact of nutrient legacies and proposed solutions to improving water quality of lakes and coastal zones.
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include non-salty mineral-rich waters such as chalybeate springs. Fresh water may encompass frozen and meltwater in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, snowfields and icebergs, natural precipitations such as rainfall, snowfall, hail/sleet and graupel, and surface runoffs that form inland bodies of water such as wetlands, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, as well as groundwater contained in aquifers, subterranean rivers and lakes. Fresh water is the water resource that is of the most and immediate use to humans.