William Conner

Professor Emeritus
Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department, Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science

Office: Georgetown SC
Phone: 843-546-6323
Fax: 843-546-6296

Email: wconner@clemson.edu
Vita: Download CV
Personal Website: http://www.clemson.edu/baruch/

Educational Background

Ph.D. Forestry
Louisiana State University 1988

M.S. Marine Science
Louisiana State University 1975

B.S. Biology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University 1973

Courses Taught

Forested Wetland Ecology

Profile

1. Outstanding Dissertation in the LSU College of Agriculture in 1989.
2. The Taking Wing Award: awarded by USDA Forest Service for Collaborative Research of Iatt Creek Ecosystem in 2000.
3. The Clemson University Board of Trustees 2000 Award for Faculty Excellence.
4. Natural Resouces Graduate Student Association 2016 Teacher of the Year.
4. Served on Louisiana Governor’s Coastal Wetland Forest Conservation and Use Science Working Group member (2004-2005); Work that is widely recognized as being important and becoming an important contribution to changing the way the Southern U.S. manages and conserves cypress and tupelo forests.
5. Garnered over $4 million in research grants and contracts as PI or Co-PI.
6. Authored or edited 3 books, 1 special issue of Wetland Ecology and Management, 32 book chapters; 93 refereed journal papers; and 80 other scientific papers and reports; given 310 presentations as presenter or co-author.
7. Served as Associate Editor of Wetlands (Society of Wetland Science journal) 1996-1998.
8. Chaired, co-chaired, organized or officer in over 39 organizations; including Program committee for Wetland Restoration: Addressing Asian Issues Through International Collaboration (2002 in Nanjing, China) and Organizer and Chair of Symposium on Effect of Climate and Sea Level Changes on Coastal Wetlands (Cairns, Australia 2006).
9. Major Professor for seven Ph.D. students, six M.S. students and served on 25 other student committees.
10. Fellow, Society of Wetland Scientists (SWS) (elected 2007)
11. Secretary-General Society ofWetland Scientists (2008-2011)
12. Member of SWS, Society for Ecological Restoration, Association of Southeastern Biologists, Estuarine Federation, Southern Appalachian Botany Society
13. Clemson University's Highest Agricultural Honor, the Godley-Snell Award for Excellence in Agricultural Research (2010)
14. LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources Alumnus of the Year (2010)
15. Selected as Fellow of the Clemson University Institute for Parks (2012)
16. SWS President's Service Award (2013)
17. Natural Resources’ Graduate Student Association Teacher of the Year (2016)
18. Society of Wetland Scientists 40th Anniversary Award (2020)

Research Interests

Fresh and Salt Water Forested Wetlands, Wetland Management, Wetland Creation and Restoration, Effects of Man and Nature on Natural Environments, Dendrochronology, Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment, Estuarine/Upland Connections, Changing Land-Use Impacts on Natural Systems, Historical Ecology

Publications

Day, J.W., W.H. Conner, R.D. DeLaune, C.S. Hopkinson, R.G. Hunter, G.P. Shaffer, D. Kandalepas, R.F. Keim, G.P. Kemp, R.R. Lane, V.H. Rivera-Monroy, C.E. Sasser, J.R. White, I. Vargas-Lopez. 2021. A review of 50 years of study of hydrology, wetland dynamics, aquatic metabolism, water quality and trophic status, and nutrient biogeochemistry in the Barataria Basin, Mississippi Delta – System functioning, human impacts and restoration approaches. Water 13, 642. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13050642.

Lumibao, C.Y., E.R. Kimbrough, R.H. Day, W.H. Conner, K.W. Krauss, and S.A. Van Bael. 2020. Divergent biotic and abiotic filtering of root endosphere and rhizosphere soil fungal communities along ecological gradients. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 96(7). doi:10.1093/femsec/fiaa124.

Allen, S.T. and W.H. Conner. 2021. Localized net precipitation augmentation to shrubs: a case study on stemflow funneling to hummock islands in a salinity-intruded swamp. Front. For. Glob. Change 4:691321. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2021.691321.

Gagnon, P.R., L.L. Battaglia, B.B. Hanberry, W.H. Conner, and S.L. King. 2021. Fire in floodplain forests of the southeastern USA. Pages 201-242 in C.H. Greenberg and B. Collins, eds. Fire Ecology and Management: Past, Present, and Future of US Forested Ecosystems (Managing Forest Ecosystems, 39). Springer.

Conner, W.H., S. Whitmire, J.A. Duberstein, R. Stalter, and J. Baden. 2022. Changes within a South Carolina coastal wetland forest in the face of rising sea level. Forests 13:414. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13030414.

Heaton, R., B. Song, T.M. Williams, W.H. Conner, Z.M. Baucom, and B. Williams. 2023. Twenty-seven year response of South Carolina coastal plain forests affected by Hurricane Hugo. Plants 12, 691. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12040691.

Chen, H., A.M. Rüecker, Y. Liu, D. Miller, J.-N. Dai, J.J. Wang, D.O. Suhre, L.-J. Kuo, W.H. Conner, B.J. Campbell, R.C. Rhew, and A.T. Chow. 2023. Unique biogeochemical characteristics in a coastal ghost forest – the transition from freshwater forest wetland to salt marsh under the influences of sea level rise. Soil & Environmental Health 1(1):100005.

Krauss, K.W., G.B. Noe, J.A. Duberstein, N. Cormier, A.S. From, T.R. Doody, W.H. Conner, D.R. Cahoon, and D.J. Johnson. 2023. Presence of hummock and hollow microtopography reflects shifting balances of shallow subsidence and root zone expansion along forested wetland river gradients. Estuaries and Coasts https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-023-01227-5.

Sheel, B., I.F. Creed, B.A. Tangen, S.D. Bridgham, A.R. Desai, K.W. Krauss, S.C. Neubauer, GB. Noe., D.O. Rosenberry, C. Trettin, K.P. Wickland, S.T. Allen, A. Arias-Ortiz, A.R. Armitage, D. Baldocchi, K. Banerjee, D. Bastviken, P. Berg, M. Bogard, A.T. Chow, W.H. Conner, C. Craft, C. Creamer, T. DelSontro, J.A. Duberstein, M. Eagle, M. Siobhan Fennessy, S.A. Finkelstein, M. Göckede, S. Grunwald, M. Halabisky, E. Herbert, M.R. Jahangir, O.F. Johnson, M.C. Jones, J.J. Kelleway, S. Knox, K.D. Kroeger, K.A. Kuehn, D. Lobb, A.L. Loder, D.T. Maher, G. McNicol, P. Megonigal, J. Meier, B.A. Middleton, C. Mills, A. Mitra, C. Mobilian, A.M. Nahlik, S. Newman, J.L. O’Connell, P. Oikawa, M.P. van der Burg, C.A. Schutte, C. Song, C.L. Stagg, J. Turner, R. Vargas, M.P. Waldrop, M.B. Wallin, Z.A. Wang, E.J. Ward, D.A. Willard, S. Yarwood, X. Zhu. 2023. Practical guide to measuring wetland carbon pools and fluxes. Wetlands 43(8):105. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-023-01722-2.

Stanturf, J.A., W.H. Conner, D.R. Coyle, and S.L. Goodrick. 2024. Forest disturbances. Chapter 7. In S. McNulty, ed. Future Forests: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change. Elsevier.

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