Education

Ph.D., Forestry - 1985 - North Carolina State University - concentration in plant physiology with a biochemistry minor
B.S., Forest Science - 1980 - Louisiana State University

Employment

Associate Professor, 2000 - present
Research Associate Professor, 1998 - 2000
Visiting Assistant Professor, 1993 - 1998
Visiting Lecturer, 1991 - 1993
Department of Forestry, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

I direct the Restoration Ecology Program in the Department of Forestry at NCSU, where I study the ecology and restoration of the forests of the Southeastern U.S. and the New World Tropics. Grantors include federal and state agencies and private industries. I enjoy access to industrial forests through the NCSU/Industry Hardwood Research Cooperative, to study silviculture, harvesting, and conservation biology issues of production forests from the Atlantic coastal plain to the Appalachian ridges. My recent work includes: the first application of bioequivalence statistics to restoration; development of criteria for wetland forest restoration; evaluation of the impacts of harvesting on plant communities and edaphic factors in many forest types; nursery production of tropical hardwoods; restoration of dry tropical forests in Costa Rica, and; characterization of montaine forests in Tanzania.

Biologist, Natural Systems Associates, Raleigh, NC, 1987 - 1990

Conducted research and planning for the reclamation of phosphate surface mines; research and evaluation of the impacts of phosphate mining and fertilizer manufacture on the surrounding terrestrial and aquatic environments.

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Forested Wetlands Research Program, Clemson University, Charleston, SC, 1985 - 1987

Conducted studies of the physiology and metabolism of waterlogged tree roots, and related wetland topics.

Research Projects at North Carolina State University

Development of a Hydrology Standard for Restoration of Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Forests - US Environmental Protection Agency.

Durability of Stream Restoration in the Urban and Semi-urban Piedmont of North Carolina.

Wetlands Restoration along the North River - NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Jointly with Garry Grabow (Biological and Agricultural Engineering), Robert Evans (Bio and Ag Engineering), Stephen Broome (Soil Science), Mike Vepraskis (Soil Science), and Greg Jennings (Bio and Ag Engineering). July 1, 2002 - June 30, 2008. $921,026 ($146,517 to Shear).

Restoration Planning for the Gaoligongshan Nature Park, Yunnan Province, China
Jointly with the Center for U.S.-China Arts Exchange of Columbia University (New York) and Kunming Institute of Botany (Kunming, China), with support for travel and expenses in China provided by a grant from the John D. And Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation to the Center for U.S.-China Arts Exchange.

Ecosystem Services and Restoration Potential of Natural Forests in Tanzania
Rockefeller Foundation Africa Dissertation Internship Award to support my doctoral student from Tanzania: $16,050, plus cost of my travel to Tanzania and a visit to NCSU by Head, Department of Forestry, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Tanzania

Stream Restoration at Tulula Bog
NC Department of Transportation (through UNC-Asheville) Graduate Research Fellowship from the Center for Transportation and the Environment, and a graduate research assistantship provided by the Department of Forestry.

Resistance and Susceptibility of UrbanForests to Exotic Species Invasion
Supported by a graduate research assistantship from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, 2000-2004.

Reproductive Biology of Astragalus michauxii
Supported by a graduate research assistantship from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, 2000-2005.

Restoration of Atlantic White-Cedar Forests
Supported by a graduate research assistantship from the Department of Forestry, 1999-2001.

Restoration of Historic Piedmont Ecosystems
Supported by the North Carolina Museum of Art and the BASF Corporation. 2000 - present.

Sustainability of Reconstructed Tropical Ecosystems
Graduate fellowship from the U.S. Fulbright Student Program and a graduate research grant of $5,000 from the Organization for Tropical Studies, 1999 - present.

Effects of Clearcutting with Helicopter and Skidder Logging after Eight Years in a Southeastern Blackwater Swamp - National Council for Air and Stream Improvement
Examine the effects of helicopter and conventional skidder logging of a blackwater swamp along the Edisto River, South Carolina on: plant community composition and structure; soil properties, and; surface and ground water quality.

Funding: 1998: $20,000 from NCASI and 14,395 from the Hardwood Coop; 1999 (tentative): $15,000 from NCASI

Core Point Forested Wetlands Restoration and Creation Project - PCS Phosphate Company, Inc.
Designed and constructed coastal plain small stream swamps; conducting research on hydrologic modeling, plant community development, development of hydrogeomorphic features in created wetland soils, and recovery of the microbial communities of restored and created soils.

Funding: 1991: $101,129; 1993: $115,567; 1994: $91,643; 1996: $100,591; 1997: $99,998

Plant Community Distribution across Soil, Water, and Nutrient Gradients in Southern Appalachian Bogs: A Pre-Restoration Study - Center for Transportation and the Environment
Analyses of plant community distribution in Appalachian swamp-bog complexes to provide design criteria for the restoration of a 200 acre swamp-bog complex in Shady Valley, Tennessee, that has been converted to agricultural land.

Funding: 1995-present: $40,001, plus an additional $15,000 graduate fellowship from the Center for Transportation and the Environment awarded to my graduate student and additional graduate student summer salary from the Nature Conservancy

Optimal Road Location with Wetland Impacts (Co-Investigator with Joe Roise, Dept. of Forestry) - Center for Transportation and the Environment
Development of a GIS-based expert system for locating both roads and wetland mitigation sites on the North Carolina coastal plain, in order to minimize impacts to and maximize restoration of landscape-level wetland functions.

Funding: 1995-present: $94,923, plus an additional $15,000 graduate fellowship from the Center for Transportation and the Environment awarded to graduate student

Ecological Bases of Biodiversity in Hardwood Forests with Alternative Harvesting Systems - NC State University - Industry Hardwood Research Cooperative
Exploration of the effects of clearcutting and partial timber harvesting (deferment and shelterwood cuts) on the understories of three southeastern hardwood communities (coastal plain, southern Piedmont, and Appalachian mountains).

Funding: 1993-present: approximately $118,000

Restoration of Hydrology and Water Quality Functions on Prior Converted Wetlands (Co-Investigator with Robert Evans, Dept. of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and Mike Vepraskis, Dept. of Soil Science)
Evaluate the effects of water management and recreation of microtopography on the development of plant communities, the restoration of hydrogeomorphic properties of previously drained wetland soils, and the improvement of water quality on agricultural fields restored to wetland forests.

Funding: 1994-1997: $248,500, plus a graduate assistantship ($22,000) provided by the Department of Forestry

Improved Nursery Production and Seedling Establishment Techniques for Five Native Tree Species in the Atlantic Lowlands of Costa Rica
Seedling responses of five commercially important native hardwoods in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica (Cordia alliodora, Hyeronima alchorneoides, Calophyllum brasiliense, Vochysia guatemalensis, and Vochysia ferruginea) to container type and substrate quality, and to different weeding and fertilization regimes after outplanting.

Funding: 1995-1997: supported by a graduate student grant from the Organization for Tropical Studies and a graduate assistantship ($33,000) provided by the Department of Forestry

Development of Guidelines for the Restoration of Forested Wetlands in North Carolina (Co-Investigator with H. Rooney Malcom, Dept. of Civil Engineering)- Center for Transportation and the Environment
Development of techniques to reconstruct long-term hydrologic regimes with scant data; analyses of plant community distribution across soil, water, and edaphic gradients to provide design criteria for the restoration of coastal plain riverine forested wetlands; development of guidelines for the restoration or creation of these wetland types.

Funding: 1994-1995: $169,645, plus an additional $15,000 graduate fellowship from the Center for Transportation and the Environment awarded to my graduate student and a $12,336 award for minority student development

Description of the Urban Forest of Cary, North Carolina
Description of: the urban forest cover of a fast-growing suburban area from aerial photographs; the forest community composition from ground surveys; and GIS-based analyses of the changes in spatial patterns of cover and forest-type distribution over a 5-year period.

Funding: 1993-1995: Graduate student support provided by another professor

Development of 50-year Old Wetland Forests Restored on Agricultural Lands in Southwestern Kentucky - United States Army Engineers Corps, through the Tennessee Valley Authority
Comparison of plant community composition, stand biomass, and dynamics of restored and mature, and assessment of sedimentation in these forests using ¹³⁷Cs as a marker.

Funding: 1992: 49,955; 1993: $48,114; plus a graduate assistantship ($28,000) provided by the Department of Forestry

Analyses of Impacts of Highway Improvements on Restored Wetlands - Tennessee Valley Authority
Determination of plant community composition and structure in restored forested wetlands impacted by highway development.

Funding: 1992: $5,000

Determination of Edge Effects in Upland Coastal Plain Forests -The Nature Conservancy
One of the first descriptions of forest edge effects based on multivariate analyses of plant community composition and structure.

Funding: 1991-1993: supported by a graduate student grant from the Nature Conservancy plus a graduate assistantship ($22,000) provided by the Department of Forestry.

TEACHING SUPPORT

Microsoft Future Professors Training Program
Microsoft provided state-of-the-art computer equipment and software to myself and one of my doctoral students, as well as a week of training in using new technology in the classroom at Microsoft Headquarters, Redmond, Washington in 2003-2004.

Safety Across the Curriculum: Bringing the Corporate Culture of Safety into the Classroom and Laboratory
(with Terrie Litzenberger and Joe Cox, submitted as Fred Cubbage Department Head) - Supported by NC State Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, $5,000

Publications and Presentations

REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES

Shear, T.H., K.S. Hamlin, and P.R. Puckett. The state of stream restoration in the North Carolina Piedmont: An assessment of instream structure durability and stream bank erosion. Submitted to Ecological Engineering.

Malone, M., T.H. Shear, and J. Stucky. Does restoration make streams more susceptible to invasion of exotic plants? Submitted to Restoration Ecology.

Johnson, Y.B., T.H. Shear, and A.L. James. 2013. Novel ways to assess forested wetland restoration in North Carolina using ecohydrological patterns from reference sites. EcohydrologyDOI: 10.1002/eco.1390

Johnson, Y.B., T.H. Shear, and A.L. James. 2012. Identifying ecohydrological patterns in natural forested wetlands useful to restoration. Ecohydrology 5:368-379. DOI: 10.1002/eco.227

Laing, J.M., T.H. Shear, and F.A. Blazich. 2011. How management strategies have affected Atlantic white-cedar forest recovery after massive wind damage in the Great Dismal Swamp. Forest Ecology and Management 262:1137-1344. DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2011.06.026

Vidra, R.L., and T.H. Shear. 2008. Thinking locally for urban forest restoration: A simple method links exotic species invasion to local landscape structure. Restoration Ecology 16(2):217-220. DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00387.x

Judge, C.A., J.C.Neal, and T.H. Shear. 2008. Japanese stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) management for restoration of native plant communities. Invasive Plant Science and Management 1(2):111-119. DOI: 10.1614/IPSM-07-011.1

Vidra, R.L., T.H. Shear, and J.M. Stucky. 2007. Effects of vegetation removal on native understory recovery in an exotic-species rich urban forest. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 134(3):410-419. DOI: 10.3159/1095-5674(2007)134[410:EOVRON]2.0.CO;2

Munishi, P.K.T., T.H. Shear, T.R. Wentworth, and R.P.C. Temu. 2007. Compositional gradients of plant communities in submontane rainforests of eastern Tanzania. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 19(1):35-45.

Vidra, R.L., T.H. Shear, and T.R. Wentworth. 2006. Testing the paradigms of exotic species invasion in urban riparian forests. Natural Areas Journal 26(4):339-350.  DOI: 10.3375/0885-8608(2006)26[339:TTPOES]2.0.CO;2

Halperin, J., and T. Shear. 2005. An assessment of rainforest distribution and threats in the west Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Geocarto International 20(1):51-61. Maps. DOI: 10.1080/10106040508542336

Munishi, P.K.T., and T.H. Shear. 2005. Rainfall interception and partitioning in afromontane rain forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania: Implications for water conservation. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 17(3):355–365.

Roise, J.P., K.W. Gainey, and T.H. Shear. 2004. An approach to optimal wetland mitigation using mathematical programming and geographic information system based wetland function estimation. Wetlands Ecology and Management 12(5):321-331.

Roise, J.P., T. H. Shear, and J.V. Bianco. 2004. Sensitivity analysis of transportation corridor location in wetland areas: A multiobjective programming and GIS approach. Wetlands Ecology and Management 12(5):519-529.

Munishi, P.K.T., and T.H. Shear. 2004. Carbon storage in afromontane rain forests of the eastern arc mountains of Tanzania: Their net contribution to atmospheric carbon. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 16(1):78-93.

Munishi, P.K.T., T.H. Shear, T. Wentworth, R.P. Temu, and S.M. Maliondo. 2004. Sparse distribution pattern of some plant species in two afromontane rain forests of the eastern arc mountains of Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Forestry and Nature Conservation 75:74-90.

Wightman, K.E., T.H. Shear, B. Goldfarb, and J. Haggar. 2001. Nursery and field establishment techniques to improve seedling growth of three Costa Rican hardwoods. New Forests 22(1-2):75-96. DOI: 10.1023/A:1012020023446

Rapp, J., T.H. Shear, and D. Robison. 2001. Soil, groundwater, and floristics of a southeastern United States blackwater swamp eight years after clearcutting with helicopter and skidder extraction of the timber. Forest Ecology and Management 149(1-3):241-252.  DOI: 10.1016/S0378-1127(00)00558-2

Bledsoe, B.P., and T.H. Shear. 2000. Vegetation along hydrologic and edaphic gradients in a North Carolina coastal plain creek bottom and implications for restoration. Wetlands 20(1):126-147. DOI: 10.1672/0277-5212(2000)020[0126:VAHAEG]2.0.CO;2

Stucky, J., H. Patti, and T. Shear. 1999. Regression equations for estimating Ilex opaca biomass. Castanea 64:350-354.

Beissel, K.D., and T.H. Shear. 1997. Comparison of the vegetational, hydrologic, and edaphic characteristics of riverine forested wetlands on the North Carolina coastal plain. Transportation Research Record 1601:42-48.

Shear, T.H., T.J. Lent, and S. Fraver. 1996. Comparison of restored and mature bottomland hardwood forests of southwestern Kentucky. Restoration Ecology 4(2):111-123. DOI: 10.1111/j.1526-100X.1996.tb00113.x

Shear, T.H. 1993. Restoring bottomland hardwood forests at an unused clay settlement site (North Carolina). Restoration and Management Notes 11(1):78-79.

Perry, T.O., F.S. Santamour, Jr., R.J. Stipes, T.H. Shear, and A.L. Shigo. 1991. Exploring alternatives to tree injection. Journal of Arboriculture 17(8):217-226.

Shear, T.H., and T.O Perry. 1986. Nondestructive estimation of needle weight and stem weight of small loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda L.). Canadian Journal of Forest Research 16(2):403-405. DOI: 10.1139/x86-071

REVIEWED TECHNICAL REPORTS

Shear, T., M. Young, and R. Kellison. 1997. Old-growth definition for red river bottom forests in the eastern United States. Southern Research Station, Asheville, NC. Forest Service General Technical Report SRS-10.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Vidra, R.L., and T.H.Shear. 2010. Ethical dimensions of ecological restoration. Chapter 6 in: F.A. Comin, ed. Ecological Restoration: A Global Challenge. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 318 pp.

Smith, A., G. Fialho, J. Newman, K. Heinsoo, and T. Shear. 2004. O Dilema Do Alce Da Estonia. In: Rosa, H.D. Bioetica Para As Ciencias Naturais: Conferências E Casos De Estudo Do FLAD/NSF International Bioethics Institute. Fundação Luso-Americana, Lisbao, Portugal. Pp. 339-348.

Shear, T.H. 2000. Desertification. Chapter 10 in: R. Langley and L. K. Williams, eds. Environmental Health Secrets. Hanley and Belfus, Philadelphia. Pp. 58-62.

Shear, T.H., and D.D. Hook. 1988. Interspecific genetic variation of loblolly pine tolerance to soil waterlogging. In: D.D. Hook and others, eds. Ecology and Management of Wetlands, Volume I. Ecology of Wetlands. Croom Helm, Beckenham, UK. Pp. 489-493.

EDITORSHIPS

Shear, T.H., and K.O. Summerville, eds. 1999. Proceedings: Atlantic white-cedar: Ecology and management symposium; 1997 August 6-7, 1997; Newport News, VA. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-27. Asheville, NC: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 82 pp.

Hook, D., R. Banks, V. Burrell, C. Brooks, M. DeVoe, S. Gilbert, J. Gregory, T. Mathews, W. Mckee, T. Shear, H. Smith, R. Sojka, and L Stolzy, eds. 1988. Ecology and Management of Wetlands, Volume I. Ecology of Wetlands. Croom Helm, Beckenham, UK. 592 pp.

Hook, D., R. Banks, V. Burrell, C. Brooks, M. DeVoe, S. Gilbert, J. Gregory, T. Mathews, W. Mckee, T. Shear, H. Smith, R. Sojka, and L. Stolzy, eds. 1988. Ecology and Management of Wetlands, Volume II. Management of Wetlands. Croom Helm, Beckenham, UK. 391 pp.

REPORTS IN PROCEEDINGS

Munishi, P.K.T., T.H. Shear, and R.P.C. Temu. 2002. Household level impacts on forest resources and the feasibility of using market based incentives for suatainable management of the forest resources of the Eastern Arc mountains of Tanzania. Proceedings of the Africa Mountains High Summit Conference, 6-10 May 2002, United Nations Offices at Nairobi, Kenya. Published electronically at www.montagna.org/high-summit/rafrica/Politica/Pol-Afr11.10Munishirelazioneeng.rtf

Rapp, J., T.H. Shear, and D. Robison. 1999. Soil, groundwater, and floristics of a southeastern United States blackwater swamp eight years after clearcut with helicopter and skidder logging. Forest Ecology and Management. Pp. 302-304 in: J.D. Heywood, ed. Proceedings of the Tenth Biennial Southern Silviculture Research Conference, 1999 February 16-18; Shreveport, LA. General Technical Report SRS-30. Asheville, NC: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 618 p.

Shear, T.H., and M.M. McKinney. 1999. Effects of clearcutting and selective harvesting on hardwood forest understories - 1st year results. In: Proceedings of the First North American Forest Ecology Workshop, Raleigh, NC, June 24-26, 1997.

Bledsoe, B.P., and T.H. Shear. 1995. Swamp forest vegetation and hydrology along microtopographic gradients. Pps. 159-162 in: Landin, M.C., ed. Proceedings of the National Interagency Workshop on Wetlands: Technology Advances for Wetlands Science. Technical Report, Wetlands Research and Technology Center, U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199. 428 pp.

Shear, T.H., T.J. Lent, and S. Fraver. 1995. Comparison of plant community attributes among restored and mature bottomland hardwood forests of southwestern Kentucky. Pps. 175-177 in: Landin, M.C., ed. Proceedings of the National Interagency Workshop on Wetlands: Technology Advances for Wetlands Science. Technical Report, Wetlands Research and Technology Center, U.S. Army Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS 39180-6199. 428 p.

Shear, T., and B. Bledsoe. 1995. Relationships between plant communities, microtopography, and hydrology and implications for swamp restoration and creation. In: Fischenich, J. C., C.M. Lloyd, and M.R. Palermo, eds. Proceedings: National Wetlands Engineering Workshop, 3-5 August 1993, St. Louis, Missouri, Technical Report WRP-RE-8, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS., NTIS No. AD A293 592.

Furness, J., and T. Shear. 1995. Design and construction of a coastal plain small stream swamp in eastern North Carolina. In: Fischenich, J. C., C.M. Lloyd, and M.R. Palermo, eds. Proceedings: National Wetlands Engineering Workshop, 3-5 August 1993, St. Louis, Missouri, Technical Report WRP-RE-8, U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS., NTIS No. AD A293 592.

Shear, T.H., and M. Rodriguez. 1993. Recovery of biological activity in stockpiled topsoils applied to a created forested wetland. In: Proceedings of the North Carolina Soil Science Society.

Hook, D.D., and T.H. Shear. 1987. The nature of waterlogging tolerance of loblolly pine. In: Proceedings of the 19th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference, College Station, TX.

Shear, T.H., and D.D. Hook. 1987. Use of excessive waterlogging and physiological responsesto measure genetic variation in loblolly pinewaterlogging tolerance. In: Proceedings of the 19th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference, College Station, TX.

Perry, T.O., and T.H. Shear. 1985. Differences in seed properties among reciprocal crosses of loblolly pine (a preliminary report). In: Proceedings of the 18th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference, Long Beach, MS.

Shear, T.H., and T.O Perry. 1985. Predicting loblolly pine seedling performance from seed properties. In: Proceedings of the 18th Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference, Long Beach, MS.

Shear, T.H., and T.O Perry. 1982. Variation in seed properties among clones and among ramets of the same clone in the same and different seed orchards. In: Proceedings of the Seventh North American Forest Biology Workshop, Lexington, KY.

Teaching

Professional Organizations and Certification

Society for Ecological Restoration
Sigma Xi
North Carolina Urban Forest Council
North Carolina Registered Forester # 756

Community Service

City of Raleigh Zoning Board of Adjustment, 2009 - present
City of Raleigh Tree Protection Task Force, 2002 - 2011