Patrick J. Bohlen
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Professor of Biology
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Director, Arboretum and Natural Resources
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University of Central Florida
Biography
I am a broadly trained ecologist and conservation biologist. I received my bachelor's degree in Biology in 1983 from the University of Michigan, and I spent one year in the graduate program in Entomology at the University of California Berkeley, before taking some time off to work and travel. In 1985, I did a 10-month internship at the Land Institute in Salina, Kansas. I received my Master's degree in Zoology at Miami University in 1989, and my PhD in Entomology from Ohio State University in 1994. After my PhD, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, in Millbrook, New York. In 1998, I became research biologist and director of research at the MacArthur Agro-ecology Research Center, a division of Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid, Florida. I took my current position as Professor of Biology and Director of Landscape and Natural Resources and Arboretum at the University of Central Florida in 2010. My doctoral and postdoctoral training were in soil ecology, but my current interests are in ecology and conservation of biodiversity in urban systems, including: factors influencing the diversity of pollinators and other invertebrates, urban greenspaces and patch dynamics, urban agriculture and community gardens, conservation design, ecological landscaping, and communicating and promoting the value of biodiversity to human well-being.
EXPERIENCE
2020-present
Professor
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Department of Biology
2018-present
Director
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Arboretum
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Work closely with the College of Sciences and Facilities to develop the Arboretum as an important university-wide asset that serves the campus community.
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Advance hands-on, experience-based education in plant science, ecology and conservation.
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Promote a sense of community and human well-being by creating a major hub for volunteering on campus and providing widespread opportunities for human connection to nature.
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Promote, develop and track research and educational use of the UCF campus as an outdoor living laboratory.
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Provide horticultural and landscape design oversight to help create a more ecologically sustainable outdoor environment.
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​Partner with natural resource agencies and non-profit organisations to demonstrate and promote excellence in conservation, ecological restoration, and natural resource management.
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Establish and build a philanthropic giving program to support Arboretum programs.
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Implement leadership programs that enable students to participate in coordinating and creating Arboretum programs.
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Develop facilities and site planning of Arboretum sites and program areas.
2018-present
Director
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
Landscape and Natural Resources
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Develop and maintain an outdoor environment that contributes to a sense of place, advances learning and reflects a commitment to stewardship of human, financial and natural resources.
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Oversee 65-70 employees and combined annual operating budgets of about $4.4 million.
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Help oversee planning, design and construction of $500-$700K annually of landscape installations projects.
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Manage landscape and grounds, natural areas, and green infrastructure for the entire 1,400-acre main campus, including the built environment, natural lands, and conservation easements.
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Help guide master planning of the UCF main campus.
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Implement university sustainability practices and goals into campus landscape operations.
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Develop standards and specifications for campus landscape design and construction practices, and operations.
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Administer the campus National Pollution Discharge and Elimination system stormwater permit.
2017-2018
Director of Research
MacARTHUR AGRO-ECOLOGY RESEARCH CENTER
A division of Archbold Biological Station
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Directed a nationally recognized research program in agroecology and sustainable agriculture, based on multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaborations and diverse funding sources (www.maerc.org).
EDUCATION
Doctor of Philosophy
1989-1993
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
Columbus, Ohio
Entomology
Master of Science
1987-1989
MIAMI UNIVERSITY
Oxford, Ohio
Zoology
Bachelor of Science
1979-1993
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Biology
PUBLICATIONS
Selected from among 111 total publications
Edwards, CA and PJ Bohlen. 1996. Biology and Ecology of Earthworms, Volume 3. Springer Science and Business Media, 426 pp.
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McDonnell, MJ, STA Pickett, P Groffman, P Bohlen, RV Pouyat, WC Zipperer, RW Parmelee, MM Carreiro, J Medley. 1997. Ecosystem Processes along urban-to-rural gradients. Urban Ecosystems 1: 21-36.
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Bohlen, PJ, RW Parmelee, DA McCartney and CA Edwards. 1997. Earthworm effects on the carbon and nitrogen dynamics of surface litter in corn agroecosystems. Ecological Applications 7:1341-1349.
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Bohlen, PJ, PM Groffman, CT Driscoll, TJ Fahey and TG Siccama. 2001. Plant-soil-microbial interactions in a northern hardwood forest. Ecology 82: 965-978.
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Bohlen, PJ, S Scheu, CM Hale, MA McLean, S Migge, PM Groffman and D Parkinson. 2004. Non-native earthworms as agents of change in northern hardwood forests. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2: 427-435.
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Bohlen, PJ, PM Groffman, TJ Fahey, MC fisk, E Suarez, DM Pelletier and RT Fahey. 2004. Ecosystem consequences of exotic earthworm invasion in north temperate forests. Ecosystems 7:1-12.
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Bohlen, PJ and SM Gathumbi. 2007. Nitrogen cycling in seasonal wetlands in subtropical cattle pastures. Soil Science Society of America Journal 71: 1058-1065.
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Bohlen, PJ, S Lynch, L. Shabman, M Clark, S Shukla and H Swain. 2009. Paying for ecosystem services on agricultural lands: an example from the Northern Everglades. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7: 46-55.
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Bohlen, P. J. and G. J. House (eds.). 2009. Sustainable agroecosystem management: integrating, ecology, economics and society. CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, Advances in Agroecology Series, Boca Raton, FL, 301 pp.
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Bohlen, PJ and R Villapando. 2011. Differential effects of water retention on nutrient runoff from subtropical pastures. Journal of Environmental Quality 40: 989-998.
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Boughton, E, PJ Bohlen and C Steele. 2013. Season of fire and nutrient addition differentially affect functional group richness and species cover in subtropical grassland. Biological Conservation 158: 239-247.
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Fahey, TF, JB Yavitt, RE Sherman, JC Maerz, PM Groffman, MC Fisk and PJ Bohlen. 2013. Earthworm effects on the incorporation of litter C and N into soil organic matter in a sugar maple forest. Ecological Applications 23: 1185-1201.
Boughton, EH, PF Quintana-Ascencio, DG Jenkins, PJ Bohlen, JE Fauth, A Engel, S Shukla, G Kiker, G Hendicks and HM Swain. 2019. Tradeoffs and synergies in a payment-for-ecosystem services program on ranchlands in the Everglades headwaters. Ecosphere 10(5): e02728.
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