Dr. MARGARET G. SCHMIDT
I received my B.Sc. in Agriculture (resources management, land resources) from the University of Guelph in 1983. I completed my M.Sc. in Forestry (soils and site productivity) at Lakehead University in 1986. I then spent a year in Germany where I studied and worked in the Department of Silviculture and Soil Science at Ludwig-Maximillian University, Munich. I obtained my Ph.D. in Soil Science at the University of British Columbia in the spring of 1992. My PhD research concerned forest land use dynamics and soil fertility in a mountain watershed in Nepal and I travelled three times to Nepal as part of my research program. I obtained an NSERC "Science and Engineering Fellowship" for my MSc and PhD program as well as an IDRC (International Development Research Council) "Young Researchers of Canada" Scholarship for my PhD research in Nepal. I was a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Forest Science at the University of Alberta for the summer of 1992. In the fall of 1992, I was appointed as an assistant professor in the Geography department at SFU and in the fall of 1998 I was promoted to associate professor. I am a registered Professional Agrologist (PAg).
Teaching:
I teach courses in soil science including: Soil Science I (An Introduction to Soil Science, GEOG 317); Soil Science II (Forest Soils, GEOG 417); Soils in Our Environment, GEOG 318. At the graduate level, I teach Topics in Soil Science (GEOG 617, Advanced Topics in Forest Soils)
Publications:
Sabau, J., Schmidt, M.G. and M. Krzic. 2010. The impact of black cottonwood on soil fertility in coastal western hemlock forest. Forest Ecology and Management. 260: 1350-1358.[PDF]
Zhao, Y., Krzic, M., Bulmer, C., Schmidt, M.G., and S.W. Simard. 2010. Relative bulk density as a measure of compaction and its influence on tree height growth. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 40: 1724-1735.[PDF]
Chandler, J., Schmidt, M.G., Dragicevic, S. 2008. Spatial patterns of forest floor properties and litterfall amounts associated with bigleaf maple in conifer forest of southwestern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 88: 295-313.[PDF]
Turk, T., Schmidt, M.G., Roberts, N. 2008. The influence of bigleaf maple on forest floor and mineral soil properties in a coniferous forest in coastal British Columbia. Forest Ecology and Management. 255: 1874-1882.[PDF]
Zhao, Y., M. Krzic, Bulmer, C.E., Schmidt, M.G. 2008. Maximum bulk density of British Columbia forest soils from the Proctor test: relationships with selected physical and chemical properties. Soil Science Society of America Journal. 72: 442-452.[PDF]
Yassemi, S., Dragicevic, S., Schmidt, M.G. 2008. Design and implementation of an integrated GIS-based cellular automata model to characterize forest fire behaviour. Ecological Modelling. 210:71-84.[PDF]
Blouin, V.M., Schmidt, M.G., Bulmer, C.E., Krzic, M. 2008. Effects of compaction and water content on lodgepole pine seedling growth. Forest Ecology and Management.255: 2444-2452.[PDF]
Blouin, V.M., Schmidt, M.G., Bulmer, C.E., Krzic, M. 2005. Mechanical disturbance impacts on soil properties and lodgepole pine growth in British Columbia’s central interior. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 85: 681-691.[PDF]
MacKenzie, M.D., Schmidt, M.G., Bedford, L. 2005. Soil microclimate and nitrogen availability ten years after mechanical site preparation in northern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 35: 1854-1866.[PDF]
Teste, F.P., Schmidt, M.G., Berch, S.M., Bulmer, C.E., Egger, K.N. 2004. Effects of ectomycorrhizal inoculants on survival and growth of Interior Douglas-fir seedlings on reforestation sites and partially rehabilitated landings. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 34: 2074-2088.[PDF]
Redding, T.E. , Hope, G.D., Schmidt, M.G., Fortin, M. 2004. Analytical methods for defining stand-clearcut edge effects demonstrated for N mineralization. Canadian Journal of Forest Research.34: 1018-1024.[PDF]
Redding, T.E., Fortin, M.J., Hope, G.D., Schmidt, M.G., Bailey, W.G. 2003. Spatial patterns of soil temperature and moisture across subalpine forest-clearcut edges in the southern interior of British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 83: 121-130.[PDF]
Tashe, N.C., Schmidt, M.G. 2003. The influence of understory vine maple on forest floor and mineral soil properties in coastal temperate forests. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 83: 35-44.[PDF]
Plotnikoff M, Bulmer, C., Schmidt, M.G. 2002. Soil properties and tree growth on rehabilitated landings in the interior cedar hemlock biogeoclimatic zone: British Columbia. Forest Ecology and Management. 170: 199-215.[PDF]
Tashe, N, Schmidt, M.G. 2001. The impact of vine maple on site fertility of coastal temperate forests. Forest Ecology and Management. 147: 263-279.[PDF]
Wardman, C.W., Schmidt, M.G.1998. Growth and form of Douglas-fir adjacent to persistent vine maple gaps in southwestern British Columbia. Forest Ecology and Management. 106: 223-233.[PDF]
Schmidt, M.G., Ogden, A.E., Lertzman, K.P. 1998. Seasonal comparison of soil temperature and moisture in pit and mounds under vine maple gaps and conifer canopy in a coastal western hemlock forest. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 78: 291-300.[PDF]
Macdonald, S.E., Schmidt, M.G., Rothwell, R.L. 1998. Impacts of mechanical site preparation on foliar nutrients of planted white spruce seedlings on mixed-wood boreal forest sites in Alberta. Forest Ecology and Management, 110: 35-49.[PDF]
Ogden, A.E., Schmidt, M.G. 1997. Litterfall and soil characteristics in canopy gaps occupied by vine maple in a coastal western hemlock forest. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 77: 703-711.[PDF]
Schmidt, M.G., S.E. Macdonald, R.L. Rothwell. 1996. Impacts of harvesting and mechanical site preparation on soil chemical properties of mixed-wood boreal forest sites in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 76: 531-540.[PDF]
Schmidt, M.G., Schreier, H., Shah, P.B. 1995. A GIS evaluation of land use dynamics and forest soil fertility in a watershed in Nepal. International Journal of Geographical Information Systems. 9: 317-327.
Schreier, H.S., Brown, S., Schmidt, M.G., Shah, P.B., Shrestha, B., Nakarmi, G., Wymann, S. 1994. Gaining forests but losing ground: a GIS evaluation in the Himalayas. Environmental Management. 18: 139-150.[PDF]
Schmidt, M.G., Schreier, H., Shah, P.B. 1993. Factors affecting the nutrient status of forest sites in a mountain watershed in Nepal. Journal of Soil Science. 44: 417-425.[PDF]
Schmidt, M.G., Carmean, W.H. 1988. Jack pine site quality in relation to soil and topography in North Central Ontario. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 18: 297-305.[PDF]