Diana Wall Takes Research to the Ends of the Earth
Published May 2008
The research of Diana Wall, professor and senior scientist at CSU’s Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, takes place in some of the most inhospitable landscape on Earth.
Wall's research team working in Antarctica.
In places like the Antarctic Dry Valleys, she explores with colleagues how soil biodiversity contributes to healthy, productive soils and thus to society – and the consequences of human activities on soil sustainability.
Seeking answers for success
“These studies allow us to look at global changes and how they are affecting humans and the various ecosystems so we can determine ways we can continue living here together,” Wall said.
Until late 2005, she was director of NREL, which carries out interdisciplinary research programs on the complex interactions between environmental change and ecosystem quality.
Under her leadership, the lab built a worldwide reputation in environmental sciences using fundamental approaches combined with scientific applications to policy and management decisions that promote sustainability.
A seasoned veteran of Antarctic research
In the past 10 years, Wall has documented striking changes in the Dry Valleys, as reported by The New York Times. While the temperature across much of Antarctica is rising, the Dry Valleys experienced a regional cooling period, which in turn led to cooler and drier soils. As a result, the population of an Antarctic nematode has shrunk by 65 percent since 1993 – a drop that translates to a loss of a third of the total carbon cycling in the ecosystem. Scientists are seeking to find out whether similar disturbances are taking place worldwide.
In 2006, Wall received an honorary doctorate from the Netherlands’ Utrecht University for her pioneering research on soil biodiversity, a focal point in many international cooperative ecological research programs. Wall also was elected to the board of directors of the influential World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank, in recognition of her dedication to environmental research, education and science communication.
