USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Virginia Burkett profile

Virginia R. Van Sickle-Burkett, D.F./Ph.D.

picture of Virginia Burkett Virginia R. Burkett, D.F./Ph.D. 1996. Stephen F. Austin State University.
Chief Scientist for Global Change Research

Virginia Burkett is the Chief Scientist for Global Change Research at the U.S. Geological Survey. She was formerly Chief of the Forest Ecology Branch at the National Wetlands Research Center and Associate Regional Chief Biologist for the USGS Central Region. Dr. Burkett has served as Director of the Louisiana Coastal Zone Management Program, Director of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Assistant Director of the Louisiana Geological Survey. She has published extensively on the topics of global change and low-lying coastal zones. She was a Lead Author on the United Nation's IPCC Third and Fourth Assessment Reports (2001 and 2007) and an IPCC Technical Paper on Water (2007). She coordinated both the Coastal and Southeast synthesis chapters of the U.S. National Assessment of climate change and its impacts. During her career Burkett has been appointed to over 40 Commissions, Committees, Science Panels and Boards.

Curriculum vitae - (maintained by Burkett; PDF, 62K; last updated April 28, 2008)

Burkett's NWRC Publications

The following list of publications is current only through 2001. For an update, please go to the online NWRC publications data base (http://librrefmgr.cr.usgs.gov?func=advSearch) to search for the bibliographic citations of individual staff members.

Refereed

Boesch, D.F., D. Scavia, R.W. Buddemeir, V. Burkett, D.R. Cayan, J.C. Field, M. Fogarty, M.A. Harwell, R.W. Howarth, C. Mason, R. Park, L. Piefrafesa, D.J. Reed, C.T. Royer, A.H. Sallenger, M. Spranger, and J.G. Titus. 2000. The potential consequences of climate variability and change on coastal areas and marine resources: A report of the Coastal Areas and Marine Resources Sector Team. U.S. National Assessment of the Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, U.S. Global Change Research Program. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series No. 21, NOAA Coastal Ocean Program, Silver Spring, MD, 163 p.
Burkett, V.R. 1999. Wetland functions, values and vulnerability. In Proceedings of the United States/China Water Resources Management Workshop, Tucson, AZ, April 19-22, 1999. Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of California.
Burkett, V.R., and J. Kusler. 2000. Climate change: potential impacts and interactions in wetlands of the United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 36(2):313-320.
Burkett, V.R., Wilcox, D.A., Stottlemyer, R., Barrow, W.C., Fagre, D., Baron, J., Price, J., Nielsen, J.L., Allen, C.D., Peterson, D.L., Ruggerone, G. and T. Doyle. 2005. Nonlinear dynamics in ecosystem response to climatic change: Case studies and policy implications. Ecological Complexity, 2(4):357-394.
Guntenspergen, G.R., B.A. Vairin, and V. Burkett. 1998. Overview of coastal wetland global climate change research. Pages 1-6 in G.R. Guntenspergen and B.A. Vairin, editors, Vulnerability of coastal wetlands in the Southeastern United States: climate change research results, 1992-97. U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division Biological Science Report USGS/BRD/BSR--1998-0002.
Keeland, B.D., J.A. Allen, and V.R. Burkett. 1995. Terrestrial ecosystems: Southern forested wetlands. Pages 216-218 in E.T. LaRoe, G.S. Farris, C.E. Puckett, P.D. Doran, and M.J. Mac, eds. Our living resources: a report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems. National Biological Service, Washington, DC.
National Assessment Synthesis Team [Melillo, J.M., A.C. Janetos, T.R. Karl, R.C. Corell, E.J. Barron, V. Burkett, T.F. Cecich, K. Jacobs, L. Joyce, B. Miller, M.G. Morgan, E.A. Parson, R.G. Richels, and D.S. Schimel]. 2000. Climate change impacts on the United States: The potential consequences of climate variability and change. Overview. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, 154 p.
National Assessment Synthesis Team [Melillo, J.M., A.C. Janetos, T.R. Karl, E.J. Barron, V. Burkett, T.F. Cecich, R. Corell, K. Jacobs, L. Joyce, B. Miller, M.G. Morgan, E.A. Parson, R.G. Richels, and D.S. Schimel]. 2001. Climate change impacts on the United States: The potential consequences of climate variability and change. Foundation report for the U.S. Global Change Research Program. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK, 620 p.
Van Sickle-Burkett, V., and G.W. Bengtson. 1993. Consortium for research on southern forest wetlands [included with, Industry and forest wetlands: cooperative research initiatives]. Journal of Forestry 91(5):32.

Books and Book Chapters

Burkett, V., 2002, Intertidal zones, in H.A. Mooney and J.G. Canadell, editors; The Earth system: biological and ecological dimensions of global environmental change, Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change; John Wiley and Sons, Ltd., Chichester, UK, v. 2, p. 365-369.
Burkett, V.R., Ritschard, R., McNulty, S., O'Brien, J.J., Abt, R., Jones, J., Hatch, U., Murray, B., Jagtap, S., and Cruise, J., 2001, Potential consequences of climate variability and change for the southeastern United States, in Climate change impacts on the United States: the potential consequences of climate variability and change. Foundation report for the U.S. Global Change Research Program: Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, p. 137-164, 566-569.
Field, J.C., Boesch, D.F., Scavia, D., Buddemeier, R., Burkett, V.R., Cayan, D., Fogerty, M., Harwell, M., Howarth, R., Mason, C., Pietrafesa, L.J., Reed, D., Royer, T., Sallenger, A., Spranger, M., and Titus, J.G., 2001, Potential consequences of climate variability and change on coastal areas and marine resources, in Climate change impacts on the United States: the potential consequences of climate variability and change. Foundation report for the U.S. Global Change Research Program: Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, p. 461-487, 604-608.
McLean, R.F., Tsyban, A., Burkett, V., Codignotto, J.O., Forbes, D.L., Mimura, N., Beamish, R.J., and Ittekkot, V., 2001, Coastal zones and marine ecosystems, in Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Third Assessment Report, Working Group II report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). IPCC Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland, p. 343-379.

Other Peer Reviewed Publications

Allen, J.A., and V. Burkett. 1996. Bottomland hardwood forest restoration: overview of techniques, successes and failures. Pages 328-332 in J.A. Kusler, D.E. Willard, and H.C. Hull, Jr., editors. Wetlands and Watershed Management: Science Applications and Public Policy. Tampa, FL, April 23-26, 1995. Institute for Wetland Science and Public Policy, The Association of State Wetland Managers, Berne, NY.
[print only]
Allen, J.A., and V. Burkett. 1995. National Biological Service: emphasis on partnership. Journal of Forestry 93(3):15-17.
Allen, J.A., and V.R. Burkett. 1997. Salt tolerance of southern baldcypress. USGS Biological Resources Division USGS FS-092-97. 2 pp.
Burkett, V.R., 2001, Case study: sea-level rise and subsidence implications for New Orleans and vicinity [summary]: National Academy of Sciences, Natural Disasters Roundtable Forum on Sea-level Rise and Coastal Disasters, October 25, 2001, Washington, D.C., 4 p.
Burkett, V. R. 2001. Climate change in the U.S.: Implications for fish and wildlife management. In Transactions, 66th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, March 16-20, 2001. Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D.C. In press.
Burkett, V.R., R.S. Beasley, P. Roussopoulos, and J.P. Barnett. 1996. Toward southern forest sustainability: a science agenda. Southern Region Forest Research Report to the Seventh American Forest Congress, February 20-24, 1996. Office of the Seventh American Forest Congress, Yale School of Forestry, New Haven, CT. 27 pp.
Burkett, V.R., and J. Good. 1999. Direct and indirect costs of coastal hazards to natural resources. Pages 83-97 in a multisector collaborative project of the H. John Heinz Center for Science, Economics, and the Environment. The hidden costs of coastal hazards: implications for risk assessment and mitigation. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Burkett, V.R., and H.M. Williams. 1997. Effects of flooding regime, mycorrhizal inoculation and seedling treatment type on first-year survival of Nuttall oak (Quercus nuttallii Palmer). Pages 289-294 in Proceedings, Ninth Biennial Silvicultural Research Conference. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, General Technical Report SRS-20.
Foote, A.L., V. Burkett, and S.J. Williams. 1993. Natural resource problem solving: an interdisciplinary approach in coastal Louisiana. Pages 258-266 in O.T. Magoon, W.S. Wilson, H. Converse, and L.T. Tobin, eds. Coastal Zone '93. American Society of Civil Engineers, NY.
Good, J., and V.R. Burkett. 1999. The impacts of hazards and disasters on coastal ecosystems: the hidden costs to society. In Orville Magoon, editor. Coastal Zone '99. American Society of Civil Engineers, NY.
Guntenspergen, G., B. Vairin, and V.R. Burkett. 1997. Coastal wetlands and global change: overview. USGS Biological Resources Division USGS FS-089-97. 4 pp.
Guntenspergen, G.R., B.A. Vairin, V.R. Burkett, and D. McGrath. 1997. Coastal wetlands and climate change. National Wetlands Newsletter 19(5):1, 17-20.
Kusler, J., and V. Burkett. 1999. Climate change: potential wetland impacts and adaptations. Pages 229-234 in D.B. Adams, editor. Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change on Water Resources of the United States. American Water Resources Association, TSP-99-1, Herndon, VA.
Kusler, J., and V.R. Burkett. 1999. Wetlands and climate change: scientific approaches and management options. National Wetlands Newsletter 21(2):1,16-17.
U.S. Geological Survey, Invasive Species Working Group. 2000. Invasive Species Science Strategy for DOI Lands, Central Region. USGS Unnumbered Report. (V. Burkett and J. Grace)
Walker, L.C., T. Brantley, and V.R. Burkett. 1998. Characterization of an old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in northeast Texas: Harrison Bayou. Pages 98-109 in D. Kulhave and M. Legg, editors. Wilderness areas in eastern North America. Stephen F. Austin University Press, Nacogdoches, TX.

Abstracts [2001 Only]

Burkett, V.R., 2001, Climate change in the United States: implications for fish and wildlife management [abs.]: 66th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, March 16-20, 2001, Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D.C.
Burkett, V.R., 2001, Consequences of climate variability and change in the southeastern United States [abs. and poster]: Challenges of a Changing Earth, International-Geosphere Biosphere Program, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, July 10-13, 2001, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Burkett, V.R., 2001, Global change and coastal systems: patterns possibly affecting frequency of drought [abs.]: Abstracts from "Coastal Marsh Dieback in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Extent, Causes, Consequences, and Remedies," USGS Information and Technology Report, USGS/BRD/ITR-2001-0003, 31 p.
Burkett, V.R., 2001, Sea level considerations in restoration planning [abs.]: Coastal and Estuarine Wetland Restoration Symposium, Association of State Wetland Managers, February, 2001, Baton Rouge, LA.
Burkett, V.R., 2001, Southern wetlands, climate change, and development impacts [abs.]: 86th Annual Ecological Society of America Meeting, August 5-10, 2001, Madison, Wis.
Burkett, V.R., 2001, Subsidence and sea-level rise: implications for New Orleans and vicinity [abs.]: USGS Subsidence and Aquifer Mechanics Interest Group Meeting, November 28, 2001, Galveston, Tex.

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