Ecosystem Scientist

Anya Hopple, Ecosystem Scientist

Anya Hopple, Ph.D.

Ecosystem Scientist
anya.hopple@briwildlife.org

Anya is an ecosystem ecologist and biogeochemist specializing in carbon cycling, greenhouse gas fluxes, and ecosystem resilience. Her research explores soil carbon sequestration, nutrient dynamics, and biogeochemical feedbacks across diverse ecosystems, from grasslands and savannas to wetlands and coastal environments. With over 15 years of experience in both field and computational research, she has led multi-institutional projects on climate change impacts and nature-based carbon solutions. Anya is passionate about translating science into action, and collaborating with stakeholders to implement sustainable land management strategies that enhance biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

Anya joined the Biodiversity Research Institute’s Center for Conservation and Climate Change in 2025 as an Ecosystem Scientist, where she researches terrestrial carbon sequestration, ecosystem dynamics, and climate resilience. Her work focuses on carbon project monitoring, biogeochemical cycling, and sustainable land management in grassland, savanna, and shrubland ecosystems.

Education & Certifications

Education
  • Institute of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Oregon, 2018 – Ph.D., Biology.
  • School of Public & Environmental Affairs, Indiana University – B.S., Environmental Science

Certifications

  • Wilderness First Responder (WFR) – NOLS Wilderness Medicine

Research Interests

  • Ecosystem Ecology & Biogeochemistry
  • Climate Change & Ecosystem Resilience
  • Soil Organic Matter Stabilization
  • Microbial Structure-Ecosystem Function Relationships
  • Applied Conservation Science

Journal Articles

* = CO-FIRST AUTHORED PAPER

Barney, M. * & Hopple, A. M. *, Gregory, L., Keller, J. K., & Bridgham, S. 2024. Anerobic oxidation of methane is an important control of net methane production and responds to climate change in a northern bog. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 109316.

Morris, K., Smith, M., Bailey, V., Bittencourt-Peixoto, R., Day, D., Hamovi, N., Hopple, A. M., Lee, J., Patel, K., Regier, P., Wilson, S., Yarwood, S., Megonigal, P., & Bond-Lamberty, B. 2024. Methane flux from transplanted soil monoliths depends on moisture, but not origin. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 109296.

Adebayo, M. B., Bailey, V. L., Chen, X., Hopple, A. M., Jiang, P., Li, B., … & Doro, K. O. 2023. A hydrogeophysical framework to assess infiltration during a simulated ecosystem-scale flooding experiment. Journal of Hydrology, 130243.

Hopple, A. M., Pennington, S., Megonigal, J. P., Bailey, V., & Bond-Lamberty, B. 2023. Root and microbial soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes respond differently to seasonal and episodic environmental changes in a temperate forest. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 128(8): e2022JG007233: doi: 10.1029/2022JG007233

Hopple, A. M., Doro, K. O., Bailey, V., Bond-Lamberty, B., McDowell, N., Morris, K. A., Myers-Pigg, A. M., Pennington, S., Regier, P., Rich, R., Sengupta, A., Smith, R., Stegen, J., Ward, N. D., Woodard, S. C., & Megonigal, J. P. 2023. Attaining freshwater and estuarine-water soil saturation in an ecosystem-scale coastal flooding experiment. Environmental Monitoring & Assessment. 195(3), 425: doi: 10.1007/s10661-022-10807-0

LeeWays, C., McCullough, L., Hopple, A. M., Keller, J. K., & Bridgham, S. D. 2022. Homoacetogenesis competes with hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis for substrates in a peatland experiencing ecosystem warming. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 172: 108759. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108759 

Hopple, A. M., Pennington, S., Megonigal, J. P., Bailey, V., & Bond-Lamberty, B. 2022. Disturbance legacies regulate coastal forest soil stability to changing salinity and inundation: a soil transplant experiment. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 169: 108675. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2022.108675

Wilson, R. M., Griffiths, N. A., Visser, A., McFarlane, K. J., Sebestyen, S. D., Oleheiser, K. C., Bosman, S., Hopple, A. M., Tfaily, M. M., Kolka, R. K. & Hanson, P. J. 2021. Radiocarbon analyses quantify peat carbon losses with increasing temperature in a whole ecosystem warming experiment. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 126(11): e2021JG006511. doi: 10.1029/2021JG006511

Norwood, M. J., Ward, N. D., McDowell, N. G., MyersPigg, A. M., BondLamberty, B., Indivero, J., Pennington, S., Wang, W., Kirwan, M., Hopple, A. M. & Megonigal, J. P. 2021. Coastal forest seawater exposure increases stem methane concentration. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 126(2): e2020JG005915. doi: 10.1029/2020JG005915

Faye, J., Hopple, A. M., & Bridgham, S. D. 2021. Indigenous farming practices increase millet yields in Senegal, West Africa.  Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems. 45. doi: 10.1080/21683565.2020.1815927

Jian, J., Gough, C., Sihi, D., Hopple, A. M., & BondLamberty, B. 2020. Collar properties and measurement time confer minimal bias overall on annual soil respiration estimates in a global database. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 125(12): e2020JG006066. doi: 10.1029/2020JG006066

BondLamberty, B., Christianson, D. S., Malhotra, A., Pennington, S. C., Sihi, D., AghaKouchak, A., ..Hopple, A. M.… & Zou, J. 2020. COSORE: A community database for continuous soil respiration and other soilatmosphere greenhouse gas flux data. Global Change Biology, 26(12): 7268-7283. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15353

Hopple, A. M.* & Wilson, R. M.,* Kolton, M., Zalman, C., Chanton, J. P., Kostka, J., Hanson, P. J., Keller, J. K., & Bridgham, S. D. 2020. Massive peatland carbon banks vulnerable to rising temperatures. Nature Communications, 11: 2373. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16311-8 

Meyer, K. M.* & Hopple, A. M.,* Klein, A. M., Morris, A. H., Bridgham, S. D, & Bohannan, B. J. M. 2020. Community structure – ecosystem function relationships in the Congo Basin methane cycle depend on the physiological scale of function. Molecular Ecology, 29(10): 1806-1819. doi: 10.1111/mec.15442  

Hopple, A. M., Pfeifer-Meister, L., Zalman, C., Keller, J. K., Tfaily, M. M., Wilson, R. M., Chanton, J. P., & Bridgham, S. D. 2019. Does dissolved organic matter or solid peat fuel anaerobic respiration in peatlands? Geoderma. 349: 79-87. doi: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2019.04.040

Zalman, C., Keller, J. K., Tfaily, M., Pfeifer-Meister, L., Wilson, R. M., Kolton, M., Lin, X., Chanton, J. P., Kostka, J., Gill, A., Finzi, A., Hopple, A. M., Bohannan, B. J. M., & Bridgham, S. D. 2018. Small differences in ombrotrophy controls regional-scale variation in methane cycling among Sphagnum moss-dominated peatlands. Biogeochemistry, 139: 155-177. doi: 10.1007/s10533-018-0460-z

Wilson, R. M.* & Hopple, A. M.,* Tfaily, M., Sebestyen, S. D., Schadt, C. W., Pfeifer-Meister, L., Medvedeff, C., McFarlane, K. J., Kostka, J., Kolton, M., Kolka, R. K., Kluber, L. A., Keller, J. K., Guilderson, T. P., Griffiths, N. A., Chanton, J. P., Bridgham, S. D., & Hanson, P. J. 2016. Stability of peatland carbon to rising temperatures. Nature Communications, 7. doi: 10.1007/s10533-018-0460-z

Hopple, A. M. & C. Craft. 2013. Managed disturbance enhances biodiversity of restored wetlands in the agricultural Midwest. Ecological Engineering, 61: 505-510. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.02.028

Craft, C. & Hopple, A. M. 2011. Reference Wetlands for Assessing Wetland Mitigation Projects: When is One Not Enough? Society of Wetland Scientists Research Brief, 33(3).

Grants, Awards & Fellowships

  • Nominated for the American Geophysical Union’s Thomas Hilker Early Career Award for highly creative ecology and biogeosciences research, 2023
  • Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Director’s Award of Appreciation for Field Research Coordination for TEMPEST, 2022
  • Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Silver Dollar Award for Publication Excellence, 2020
  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory, SPRUCE Project, Award for Publication Excellence, 2020
  • American Geophysical Union, Outstanding Student Oral Presentation Award, 2017
  • Department of Energy Graduate Student Research Fellowship Alternate, 2017
  • University of Oregon, Donald Wimber Fund Award, 2016
  • Department of Energy Terrestrial Ecosystems PI Meeting Travel Award, 2016
  • Society of Wetland Scientists, Best Student Oral Presentation, 2015
  • University of Oregon, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Travel Award, 2015
  • Global Oregon Graduate Grant, 2014
  • University of Oregon, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Travel Award, 2014