Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in Southwest China

University of Wisconsin-Madison NSF IGERT China Program

Nina Trautmann Chaopricha

trautmann@wisc.edu


Education

  • Ph.D. candidate in Environment & Resources with a graduate Certificate in Humans in the Global Environment (CHANGE), University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • M.S. in Land Resources with a graduate certificate in Air Resources Management, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2007)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Geoinformatics, Chinese University of Hong Kong (2005)
  • B.A. in Geosciences, Williams College (2003)

Research

    My Ph.D. research focuses on sustainable development in the Yunnan Province of southwestern China. Specifically, I am studying the conversion of steep agricultural land from annual crops to grasslands and forests and the resulting effects on soil properties, erosion, and human livelihoods.

    My M.S. research in Land Resources (completed December 2007) improved knowledge of two parts of the global carbon cycle: carbonaceous aerosol emissions and soil carbon storage. (i) I estimated historic global industrial biofuel burning from 1850-2000, and (ii) I tested soil carbon throughout a Wisconsin watershed to study variability in local carbon storage.

    My career goal is to do environmental science research to further the goals of sustainable development.

Publications

  • Fernandes, S.D., N.M. Trautmann, D.G. Streets, C.A. Roden, and T.C. Bond (2007). Global biofuel use, 1850–2000. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 21, GB2019, doi: 10.1029/2006GB002836.
  • Bond, T.C., E. Bhardwaj, R. Dong, R. Jogani, S. Jung, C. Roden, D.G. Streets, and N.M. Trautmann (007). Historical emissions of black and organic carbon aerosol from energy-related combustion, 1850–2000. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 21, G2B2018, doi: 10.1029/2006GB002840.

Research Reports and Presentations

  • Trautmann, N.M. December 2007. When are carbon data sets “good enough?”—Examples from biofuel and soil research.. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Land Resources. University of Wisconsin-Madison. 85 p.
  • Trautmann, N.M. June 2005. Mapping Seasonal, Spatial, and Temporal Changes in Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta Air Pollutant Concentrations, 1991-2003. Independent project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Geoinformatics, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 30 p.
  • Trautmann, N.M. May 2003. Sedimentologic and Geochemical Records of a Glacial-Interglacial Transition in Sharpeye Swamp, Darke County, Ohio. Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Geosciences. Williamstown, MA: Williams College. 91 p. [presented at the Williams College Sigma Xi Senior Thesis Poster Fair, 05/03, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong Geography Day, 11/03]
  • Weyer, K.M., N.M. Trautmann, and W. Wetzel. 14 May 2003. Towards a Williamstown Reduction Target: A Preliminary Assessment of Various Measures to Reduce Williamstown’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions. 16 p. [presented to the Williamstown Climate Change Committee, Williamstown Town Hall, 05/03]
  • Trautmann, N.M. April 2003. Sedimentologic and Geochemical Records of Holocene Environmental Change in Sharpeye Swamp, Greenville, Ohio, in 16th Annual Keck Research Symposium in Geology Proceedings. Beloit, WI: Beloit College. Available online at: http://keck.wooster.edu/archives/symposium/03/ ohiopdfs/Trautmannabs.pdf. 4 p. [presented at the 16th Annual Keck Research Symposium in Geology at Beloit College, 04/03]

Honors

  • National Science Foundation Traineeship, SW China IGERT Program, 2008-2010
  • Winner, Graduate Women in Science (GWIS Madison Chapter) Seminar Competition, 2005
  • Williams-in-Hong-Kong Teaching Fellowship, 2003-2005
  • Freeman Foote Prize for best 2003 Williams College Geosciences thesis presentation, 2003
  • Sigma Xi Inductee, 2003
  • Environmental Studies Committee Award, 2003
  • Congress-Bundestag Scholarship to spend 1997-98 as an exchange student in Germany

Skills

    Proficient at soil characterization in the field and laboratory, GIS and remote sensing

Languages

  • English (native speaker)
  • German (advanced)
  • Chinese (intermediate)

Back to Students