Havalend Steinmuller

Assistant Professor
hsteinmuller@lumcon.edu
985-851-2876
Coastal Biogeochemistry Lab

Education · Research Interests · Current Projects · Research Group · Selected Publications

EDUCATION

  • PhD in Conservation Biology, University of Central Florida, 2019.
  • MS in Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 2015.
  • BS in Coastal Environmental Science, Louisiana State University, 2013.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Biogeochemical cycling
  • Coastal geomorphology
  • Sea-level rise
  • Saltwater intrusion
  • Carbon stability
  • Mangrove encroachment
  • Surface elevation dynamics
  • Extreme events

CURRENT PROJECTS

  • Poleward expansion of mangroves into tidal marshes
  • The role of geomorphology in mediating ecosystem function in mangroves and tidal marshes
  • Biogeochemical responses to sea-level rise
  • Role of intertidal oysters in nutrient cycling
  • Carbon quality in ‘blue’ carbon storage
  • Refining rates of carbon and nitrogen burial in global mangrove and tidal marsh ecosystems

RESEARCH GROUP

Cameron Donofrio is a MS student in the Ecotoxicology program within the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama. He received a B.S. in Marine Biology from the University of West Florida in 2022. Cameron is interested in coastal eutrophication and the impacts of nutrient cycling on coastal water quality and is working on a collaborative project with the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

* manuscript available upon request

  • H.E. Steinmuller, J.L. Breithaupt, A.S. Rovai, K.M. Engelbert+, J.M. Smoak, L.G. Chambers, K.R. Radabaugh, R.P. Moyer, A. Chappel, D.R. Vaughn, T.S. Bianchi, R.R. Twilley, P.R. Pagliosa, M. Cifuentes-Jara, D. Torres.  “Using loss-on-ignition to estimate total nitrogen content of mangrove soils”.  Geoderma. Accepted 2024.
  • Steinmuller, Havalend E., Ethan Bourque, Samantha B. Lucas, Kevin M. Engelbert, Jason Garwood, and Joshua L. Breithaupt. “Comparing Vertical Change in Riverine, Bayside, and Barrier Island Wetland Soils in Response to Acute and Chronic Disturbance in Apalachicola Bay, FL.” Estuaries and Coasts (2022): 1-13.
  • Breithaupt, Joshua L., and Havalend E. Steinmuller. “Refining the global estimate of mangrove carbon burial rates using sedimentary and geomorphic settings.” Geophysical Research Letters 49, no. 18 (2022): e2022GL100177.
  • Steinmuller, Havalend E., Joshua L. Breithaupt, Kevin M. Engelbert, Prakhin Assavapanuvat, and Thomas S. Bianchi. “Coastal wetland soil carbon storage at mangrove range limits in Apalachicola Bay, FL: observations and expectations.” Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 5 (2022): 852910.
  • Steinmuller, Havalend E., Tammy E. Foster, Paul Boudreau, C. Ross Hinkle, and Lisa G. Chambers. “Characterization of herbaceous encroachment on soil biogeochemical cycling within a coastal marsh.” Science of the Total Environment 738 (2020): 139532.
  • Steinmuller, Havalend E., Michael P. Hayes, Nia R. Hurst, Yadav Sapkota, Robert L. Cook, John R. White, Zuo Xue, and Lisa G. Chambers. “Does edge erosion alter coastal wetland soil properties? A multi-method biogeochemical study.” Catena 187 (2020): 104373.
  • Steinmuller, Havalend E., Tammy E. Foster, Paul Boudreau, C. Ross Hinkle, and Lisa G. Chambers. “Tipping points in the mangrove March: characterization of biogeochemical cycling along the mangrove–salt marsh ecotone.” Ecosystems 23 (2020): 417-434.
  • Steinmuller, H. E., and Lisa G. Chambers. “Characterization of coastal wetland soil organic matter: Implications for wetland submergence.” Science of the Total Environment 677 (2019): 648-659.
  • Chambers, L.G., H.E. Steinmuller, J. Breithaupt. “Toward a mechanistic understanding of peat collapse and its contribution to coastal wetland loss”.  Ecology (2019) 100 (7):e02720.
  • Steinmuller, H.E., K. Dittmer, J.R. White, L.G. Chambers. “Understanding the fate of soil organic matter in submerging coastal wetland soils: a microcosm approach.” Geoderma 337 (2019): 1267-1277.