photo: Lily Piel and Maine Farmland Trust’s Joseph Fiore Art Center
My primary research interests include farm adaptation to and mitigation of climate change, ecological weed and pest management, farmland food webs, and ecosystem services. I am committed to addressing practical questions posed by farmers, and enjoy partnering with stakeholders in research. I completed a PhD in Ecology and Environmental Sciences in the Gallandt lab at University of Maine, and am currently employed as a Special Projects Assistant in the Daigneault lab.  
Manuscripts Published & Submitted
  • S.K. Birthisel, R.S. Clements & E.R. Gallandt (accepted with minor revision). Review: How will climate change impact the ‘many little hammers’ of ecological weed management? 
  • R.S. Clements, S.K. Birthisel A. Daigneault, E. Gallandt, D. Johnson, T. Wentworth & M.T. Niles (in press). Climate change in the context of whole-farming systems: Opportunities for improved outreach. 
  • S.K. Birthisel, B.A. Eastman, A.R. Soucy, M. Paul, R.S. Clements, A. White, M.P. Acquafredda, W. Errickson, L-H. Zhu, M.C. Allen, S.A. Mills, G. Dimmig, & K.M. Dittmer (2020). Convergence, continuity, and community: A framework for enabling emerging leaders to build climate solutions in agriculture, forestry, and aquaculture. Climatic Change. 
  • E.H. Roche, E.B. Mallory, & S.K. Birthisel (2019). Using farmer storytelling to build understanding of our “new weather reality.” Journal of Extension.
  • S.K. Birthisel & E.R. Gallandt (2019). Trials evaluating solarization and tarping for improved stale seedbed preparation in the Northeast USA. Organic Farming.
  • S.K. Birthisel, G.A. Smith, G.M. Mallory, J. Hao, & E.R. Gallandt (2019). Effects of field and greenhouse solarization on soil microbiota and weed seeds in the Northeast USA. Organic Farming.
  •  E.R. Gallandt, S.K. Birthisel, B.J. Brown, M. McCollough, & M.A. Pickoff (2019). Organic farming and sustainable weed control. Book chapter in Weed Control: Sustainability, Hazards and Risks in Cropping Systems Worldwide. N.E. Korres, N.R. Burgos, & S.O. Duke, eds. Science Publishers: Boca Raton, FL.​
  • R.G. Smith, S.K. Birthisel, S.C. Bosworth, B. Brown, T.M. Davis, E.R. Gallandt, A. Hazelrigg, E. Venturini, & N.D. Warren (2018). Environmental correlates with germinable weed seed banks on organic farms across northern New England. Weed Science 66, 78-93.
  • S.K. Birthisel, E.R. Gallandt, R. Jabbour, & F.A. Drummond (2015). Habitat and time are more important predictors of weed seed predation than space on a diversified vegetable farm in Maine, USA. Weed Science 63, 916-927.
  • S.K. Birthisel, E.R. Gallandt, & R. Jabbour (2014). Habitat effects on second-order predation of the seed predator Harpalus rufipes and implications for weed seedbank management. Biological Control 70, 65-72.

​Manuscripts in Preparation
  • S.K. Birthisel, B.J. Brown, & E.R. Gallandt. Looking for 'rare' weeds of concern in a changing climate 
  • S.K. Birthisel & E.R. Gallandt. WEEDucator: A novel approach to weed management education.