Jackie Matthes
Senior Scientist
Land-Atmosphere Exchange
3 Years at Harvard Forest
About Jackie
I am an ecosystem scientist at Harvard Forest, where I study interactions among ecosystems, the atmosphere, and watersheds. My research integrates long-term ground-based measurements with empirical and mechanistic modeling. I lead multiple funded projects, including scaling terrestrial-aquatic carbon interactions and examining long-term carbon and water dynamics in northeastern forests under climate change and biotic stressors.
As Principal Investigator of the Harvard Forest long-term eddy flux towers, I oversee the nation’s longest continuous ecosystem-atmosphere exchange record (1991–present). This year, I am leading a major project to rebuild the flux tower infrastructure for long-term resilience.
Beyond research, I am a passionate educator and mentor. Before joining Harvard, I earned tenure at Wellesley College, where I spent six years on the faculty. Now, I teach in the Environmental Science & Public Policy program and mentor students through the Harvard Forest Summer Research Program. I also contribute to shaping the future of the field through advisory roles, including serving on the Science Advisory Board of the Integrated Carbon Observatory System.
Current Projects & Research
In my latest publication with Samuel Jurado, we found that land-atmosphere coupling at Harvard Forest is driven more by limited soil moisture retention than by evapotranspiration. As a warmer climate enables an increase in atmospheric humidity, extreme precipitation events have become more frequent in the Northeastern United States. Extreme rainfall events at Harvard Forest increased water loss due to the soil’s low water-holding capacity and reduced availability for evapotranspiration. This then caused drier soils to further weaken conditions for rainfall, reinforcing a self-amplifying dry soil feedback loop.
Jurado, S. J., J. H. Matthes. 2025. Increasing large precipitation events and low available water holding capacity create the conditions for dry land-atmosphere feedbacks in the northeastern United States, Water Resources Research 61(2):e2024WR038600, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR038600.
One of my current research projects involves conducting cross-scale field measurements of methane dynamics at the Harvard Forest. Interfaces between well-drained upland soils and wetlands are critical sites for biogeochemical processing in temperate forests. In many locations, including the Harvard Forest, water table fluctuations are changing with more frequent extreme precipitation events, higher total precipitation, and more variation in total precipitation among years due to climate change. We will synthesize field data into a model that will help us better understand the movement of methane in forest ecosystems with uplands and wetlands.
Measuring carbon dynamics at terrestrial-aquatic interfaces in wetlands and uplands: public abstract for my DOE grant is on page 11 here: https://ess.science.energy.gov/wp- content/uploads/2023/08/ESS-FY23-FOA-2849-Summary_rev-08-01-2023.pdf
To learn more about my body of work and my team, check out The Matthes Lab at Harvard Forest.
What Inspires Them
I enjoy working with others to understand how ecosystems work and why they’re changing. I especially enjoy leading long-term studies based on observations where we collect data that serve as clues to how ecosystems work and where we really get to spend time in the ecosystems that we’re studying through the seasons. I am also particularly inspired by working with students and other early-career researchers to see how their perspectives and ideas are shaping the questions that we pursue and the way that we do science moving forward.
How they first heard about Harvard Forest
As an undergraduate at Harvard University I visited the Harvard Forest as a fieldtrip for my ecology course, but it took quite a few years before I started conducting summer research at the Forest with undergraduate students while I was on the faculty at Wellesley College.
Their favorite place at Harvard Forest
Getting the “atmospheric” perspective above forest canopy when climbing our research towers.
Fun Fact
I am an enthusiastic crossword puzzle nerd.
