Earth Scientist
Earth Scientist

Biography

Avni Malhotra is a biogeochemist and ecosystem ecologist focused on ecosystem carbon cycling and plant-soil interactions. She specializes in carbon-rich ecosystems such as peatlands and wetlands, which are globally significant but vulnerable sinks of carbon. Avni employs a multi-scale approach where fine-scale process investigations in the lab and field are placed in a broader context using global data syntheses, and model-data integration. She is also passionate about building ecological and soil databases to aid syntheses and models. 

Research Interest

  • Global change
  • Wetlands
  • Peatlands
  • Permafrost
  • Root traits
  • Soil carbon
  • Methane
  • Carbon dioxide
  • Databases

Current Research

Avni’s current research focuses on how belowground plant traits influence carbon storage and greenhouse gas emissions across a variety of ecosystems including peatlands, coastal systems, and permafrost. 

Through her role as data synthesis co-lead in the COMPASS-FME project, Avni focuses on belowground plant traits, and carbon pools and fluxes in coastal ecosystems that are undergoing hydrological change. Her research tools include synthesizing data to generate hypotheses for field and lab experiments within COMPASS-FME, and interfacing with models such as ELM. 

Avni also leads multiple projects that leverage artificial intelligence tools to expedite data collection and harmonization, and discovery in belowground ecology, carbon fluxes, and soil science.    

Education

  • Doctor of Philosophy, McGill University, Montréal, Canada
  • Master of Science, Villanova University, Philadelphia, USA
  • Bachelor of Science (Honors), York University, Toronto, Canada

Postdoctoral training: 

  • Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, USA
  • Stanford University, Stanford, USA 

Past appointments:

  • Senior Scientist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • Course lecturer for Quantitative Methods, McGill University, Montreal, Canada        

Affiliations and Professional Service

Advising*

Ongoing:

Completed:

*All students are based at the University of Zurich unless noted otherwise

Synergistic Activities

  • Associate Editor for JGR-Biogeosciences
  • Review Board member for the journal Biogeochemistry
  • International Soil Carbon Network, Coordinator
  • American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting Program Committee and Chair (2018-2021)
  • Advisory board member for ICON Science (2022-present) 
  • Led the workshop ‘Linking root traits and soil carbon on a global scale’ at the Climate Change Science Institute and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, July 2018, Read Eos meeting report here.

Publications

Please see my Google Scholar page for a detailed list

2025

  • Lu M., S. Wang, A. Malhotra, S.J. Tumber-Davila, S.R. Weintraub-Leff, M. McCormack, and X. Wang, et al. 2025. "A continental scale analysis reveals widespread root bimodality." Nature Communications 16:Art. No. 5281. PNNL-SA-211717. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60055-2
  • Malhotra A., J. Moore, S. Weintraub-Leff, K. Georgiou, A.A. Berhe, S.A. Billings, and M. De Graaff, et al. 2025. "Fine root and soil carbon stocks are positively related in grasslands but not in forests." Communications Earth & Environment 6:Art. No. 497. PNNL-SA-212477. doi:10.1038/s43247-025-02486-9
  • Tang A., G. Bohrer, A. Malhotra, J.E. Missik, F. Machado-Silva, and I. Forbrich. 2025. "Rising water levels and vegetation shifts drive substantial reductions in methane emissions and carbon dioxide uptake in a Great Lakes coastal freshwater wetland." Global Change Biology 31, no. 2:e70053. PNNL-SA-208223. doi:10.1111/gcb.70053

2024

  • Feron S., A. Malhotra, S. Bansal, E. Fluet-Chouinard, G. Mcnicol, S.H. Knox, and K.B. Delwiche, et al. 2024. "Recent increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme methane fluxes driven by changes in climate and vegetation in boreal and temperate wetland ecosystems." Global Change Biology 30, no. 1:Art. No. e17131. PNNL-SA-190015. doi:10.1111/gcb.17131
  • Maatta T., and A. Malhotra. 2024. "The hidden roots of wetland methane emissions." Global Change Biology 30, no. 2:Art. No. e17127. PNNL-SA-193933. doi:10.1111/gcb.17127
  • Rocci K., F. Cotrufo, J.G. Ernakovich, E. Foster, S. Frey, K. Georgiou, and S. Grandy, et al. 2024. "Bridging 20 years of soil organic matter frameworks: empirical support, model representation, and next steps." Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 129, no. 6:Art. No. e2023JG007964. PNNL-SA-197255. doi:10.1029/2023JG007964
  • Sanchez F.P., A. Malhotra, M. Schmidt, C. Rumpel, and M.S. Torn. 2024. "How Are Deep Soils Responding to Warming?." Eos 105. PNNL-SA-196010. doi:10.1029/2024EO240173
  • Sriskandarajah N., C. Wust-Galley, S. Heller, J. Leifeld, T. Maatta, Z. Ouyang, and B.R. Runkle, et al. 2024. "Belowground plant allocation regulates rice methane emissions from degraded peat soils." Scientific Reports 14, no. _:Art. No. 14593. PNNL-SA-199765. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-64616-1
  • Treat C., A. Virkkala, E. Burke, L. Bruhwiler, A. Chatterjee, J.B. Fisher, and J. Hashemi, et al. 2024. "Permafrost carbon: progress on understanding stocks and fluxes across northern terrestrial ecosystems." Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 129, no. 3:Art. No. e2023JG007638. PNNL-SA-195592. doi:10.1029/2023JG007638
  • Zhang Z., S. Bansal, K. Chang, E. Fluet-Chouinard, K. Delwiche, M. Goeckede, and A. Gustafson, et al. 2024. "Characterizing Performance of Freshwater Wetland Methane Models Across Time Scales at FLUXNET-CH4 Sites Using Wavelet Analyses." Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 128, no. 11:e2022JG007259. PNNL-SA-206761. doi:10.1029/2022JG007259

2023

  • Ofiti N.O., M. Schmidt, S. Abiven, P.J. Hanson, C. Iversen, R. Wilson, and J. Kostka, et al. 2023. "Climate warming and elevated CO2 alter peatland soil carbon sources and stability." Nature Communications 14. PNNL-SA-192357. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-43410-z