About

Timothy A. Martin is a Co-Director of the Forest Biology Research Cooperative (FBRC) at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. His expertise lies in forest tree physiology and stand dynamics, contributing to the cooperative's mission of optimizing the productivity, health, and sustainability of intensively-managed Southern pine forest ecosystems. The FBRC, founded in 1996 and part of the University of Florida's School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, focuses on integrated, applied, and intensively-studied field experiments to understand the interactions and dynamics of genetics, pest management, silviculture, ecophysiology, nutrition, and soils. As a leader within this multidisciplinary team, Martin collaborates with scientists specializing in genetics, silviculture, physiology, forest soils, pathology, and biometrics to develop advanced forest management systems for the 21st century. His work supports the cooperative's goal of using integrated, long-term field studies to develop a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics underlying sustainable forest production.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Environmental science
• Geography
• Mathematics
• Remote sensing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Statistics
• Biology
• Botany
• Ecology
• Optics
• Genetics
• Telecommunications
• Meteorology
• Evolutionary biology
• Database
• Geology
• Agronomy

Selected publications

• Incorporating science communication and bicultural knowledge in teaching a blended volcanology course

  Geoscience Communication · 2025-04-03 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract. A variety of skills can be taught alongside course content. In the University of Canterbury third-year course on magmatic systems and volcanology, we chose to focus on teaching bicultural competence and science communication, while transforming the course to a more skill-based, flexible, flipped-classroom model. We document the development process and measure student perceptions associated with these skills. We used two edX massive open online courses (MOOCs) on volcanology as skill-focused learning resources to replace lectures and supplement hands-on laboratory and tutorial sessions to teach volcanology. We compare the skill-focused courses with baseline data from 2021, gathered during an initial iteration of the course that included interactive volcanology lectures and an online Iceland virtual field trip component. The new course was developed using the original 2021 Iceland virtual field trip to create the two virtual-field-trip-based MOOCs with new bicultural and science communication components. To achieve this, we used cultural advisors from connections through Aotearoa / New Zealand research programmes and kaiārahi (Māori learning advisors) from the University of Canterbury. In the course, these experts ensured appropriate cultural guidance at specific volcanic sites and appropriate assessments. Mātauranga (Māori knowledge) of volcanoes is included and taught by video of kōrero (oral knowledge) from members of mana whenua (tribes local to the volcanoes) in the areas that are visited in the course. In this paper, we describe the development of a flipped-classroom MOOC featuring bicultural competence and science communication skills, and we report students' reflections on learning with a focus on these featured points. We analyse student reflections and comments from the two iterations of the online content by specifically coding for comments regarding skills learnt. Student responses to the reflective question “What did you learn in this course and why is it important to you and/or your potential career?” show a marked shift between the years. In the new 2022 course, students' reflections were more likely to highlight a skill, rather than content, and there was a large increase in the number of students who reported science communication or bicultural competence as a potential skill that would be useful to them. Student quotes from throughout the course and in response to the reflective question “Has this course influenced your bicultural competence?” are used to explore how and why these skills were valued by the students. These courses provide a freely available and potentially flexible model to teach bicultural and science communication skills alongside volcanology.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Combined impact of semantic segmentation and quantitative structure modelling of Southern pine trees using terrestrial laser scanning

  Scientific Reports · 2025-07-08 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Southern pine forests play a key role in the ecological function and economic vitality of the southeastern United States. High-resolution terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) has become an indispensable tool for advancing tree structural research and monitoring. A critical challenge in this field is the accurate segmentation of leaf and wood components, which directly impacts the reliability of Quantitative Structure Models (QSMs). Segmentation techniques have progressed, but most existing methods are tailored for broadleaf species, with limited exploration for coniferous species such as southern pines. Addressing this gap, our study evaluates the performance of multiple segmentation algorithms on TLS data from southern pines, providing valuable insights into improving structural analysis and supporting more precise and efficient forest research and monitoring methodologies. We collected TLS data from longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) trees in Florida, USA, and compared the performance of four segmentation algorithms: TLSep, Graph, DBSCAN, and KPConv to separate leaf and wood. We found that KPConv was the most accurate method of segmenting wood and leaf points, with an overall accuracy (OA) of 98% and F1 score of 98% for loblolly pine and 95% and 94%, respectively, for longleaf pine. Although KPConv requires a substantial initial investment for training, its inference time is fast, making it a strong candidate for high-accuracy large-scale applications. These results led to highly reliable QSMs across trunk, branch, and total volume estimates. In contrast, DBSCAN, while slightly less accurate (OA of 92% for loblolly pine and 90% for longleaf pine), does not require training data and offers a favorable trade-off between performance and efficiency. These findings highlight the importance of selecting segmentation algorithms based on specific research goals, balancing accuracy and computational feasibility in forest structural modeling.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Do soil enzymes respond to silvicultural management?

  Forest Ecology and Management · 2025-03-14 · 2 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-SP1 Slashpine-Austin Cary- 65yrs nat regen

  OSTI OAI (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information) · 2024-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-SP1 Slashpine-Austin Cary- 65yrs nat regen. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-SP1 Slashpine-Austin Cary- 65yrs nat regen produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The ACMF site is a 67 hectare naturally regenerated Pinus palustris and Pinus elliottii mixed stand.

  PublisherDOI

• Incorporating science communication and bicultural knowledge in teaching a blended volcanology course

  2024-08-14 · 2 citations

  preprintOpen accessCorresponding

  Abstract. A variety of skills can be taught alongside course content. In the University of Canterbury third-year university course on magmatic systems and volcanology, we chose to focus on teaching bicultural competence and science communication while transforming the course to a more skills-based, flexible, flipped classroom model. We document the development process and measure student perceptions associated with these skills. We used two edX massive open online volcanology courses (MOOCs) as flexible skills-focussed learning resources to replace lectures and supplement hands-on laboratory and tutorial sessions to teach volcanology. We compare the flexible skills-focussed courses with baseline data from 2021, an initial iteration of the course which included interactive volcanology lectures, and an online Iceland virtual fieldtrip component. The new skills-focussed course was developed using the original 2021 interactive online Iceland virtual fieldtrip to create the two virtual fieldtrip-based MOOCs with new bicultural and science communication components. To achieve this, we used cultural advisors from connections through NZ research programs and kaiārahi (Māori learning advisors) from the University of Canterbury. In the course, these experts ensured appropriate cultural guidance at specific volcanic sites and appropriate assessments. Mātauranga (Māori knowledge) of volcanoes is included and taught by video of kōrero (oral knowledge) from members of local mana whenua in the areas that are visited in the course. In this paper we describe the development of a flipped classroom MOOC featuring bicultural competence and science communication skills, and we report students’ reflections on learning with a focus on bicultural competence and science communication. We analyse student reflections and comments from the two iterations of the online content by specifically coding for comments regarding skills learnt. Student responses to the question What did you learn in this course and why is it important to you and/or your potential career? showed a marked shift. Compared to 2021, in 2022 students’ reflections were more likely to highlight a skill rather than content, and there was a large increase in students who reported science communication or bicultural competence as a potential skill that would be useful to them. Student quotes from throughout the course and in response to the reflective question Has this course influenced your bicultural competence? are used to explore how and why these skills were valued by the students. These courses provide a freely available and potentially flexible model to teach bicultural and science communication skills alongside volcanology.

  PublisherDOI

• Synthesis of Radiolabeled [¹⁴C]Rimsulfuron and Stable Isotope Labeled Rimsulfuron‐[M + 3] to Support Crop Metabolism Studies for Reregistration

  Journal of Labelled Compounds and Radiopharmaceuticals · 2024-05-06

  articleSenior author

  ABSTRACT Rimsulfuron is a sulfonylurea herbicide that controls grass and broadleaf weeds in maize, potatoes, fruits, nuts, and other crops. It can also be used as a burndown herbicide to clear invasive weed species along roadsides and other nonagricultural land. Rimsulfuron acts as an acetolactase synthase (ALS) inhibitor, blocking the synthesis of essential amino acids required for plant growth. As is common practice, rimsulfuron has been subject to periodic reviews by regulatory agencies for reregistration since its introduction into the market in the early 1990s. The goal of these reviews is to ensure that the herbicide carries out its intended use without creating adverse side effects to humans and the environment. Since scientific methods are continually evolving and being developed, global regulatory agencies can require additional studies to address data gaps for pesticide renewals. During this reregistration process for rimsulfuron, a new confined rotational crop study was required to address a data gap requested by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Consequently, the corresponding pyridine and pyrimidine radiolabeled [ 14 C]rimsulfuron and [M + 3] stable isotopes of rimsulfuron were synthesized for this study to support the reregistration process.

  PublisherDOI

• Two decades of carbon dynamics in an actively-managed, naturally-regenerated longleaf/slash pine forest

  Forest Ecology and Management · 2023-09-07 · 5 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Distribution of livestock sectors in Canada: Implications for manureshed management

  Journal of Environmental Quality · 2023-02-06 · 2 citations

  article

  Abstract Canada's livestock production and human populations are concentrated in southern regions. Understanding spatial and temporal distributions of animals and excreted nutrients is key to optimizing manure resources and minimizing impact of livestock. Here, we identify manureshed concerns and opportunities by reconciling nitrogen supply and demand on a regional and national scale. Data based on national statistics and farm surveys were allocated to homogeneous soil polygons (Soil Landscapes of Canada [SLC]) to quantify changes in nutrient distribution and ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions across Canada (1981–2018). Livestock sectors tied to domestic consumption, dairy and poultry, were stable over time and well dispersed. Export driven beef production has moved west since 1981, whereas pig production was prominent in Manitoba, Quebec, and Ontario. Per ha manure N excretion across livestock sectors in 2018 was generally low with 58% and 6% of the SLCs averaging <25 and >100 kg N ha −1 , respectively. Although only 3% of SLCs had average NH 3 emissions reaching 16–200 kg ha −1 , most of these were located near cities and emissions spiked in spring when more people might be exposed. The greatest concentrations of nutrients and livestock occurred around the three largest metropolitan areas: Toronto, Montreal–Quebec City, and Vancouver, posing challenges for nutrient recycling and public health. This study shows that as Canadian cities and livestock agriculture grow in southern Canada, so will challenges around food production, human health, and managing nutrients. Livestock and land use strategies are needed to reconcile changing animal sectors and growing populations.

  PublisherDOI

• SWAT-3PG: Improving forest growth simulation with a process-based forest model in SWAT

  Environmental Modelling & Software · 2023-04-13 · 22 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Swat-3pg: Improving Forest Growth Simulation with a Process-Based Forest Model in Swat

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2023-01-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Eric J. Jokela

  49 shared

• Carlos A. González-Benecke

  Oregon State University

  46 shared

• Jason G. Vogel

  University of Florida

  30 shared

• Rosvel Bracho

  University of Florida

  22 shared

• Asko Noormets

  Texas A&M University System

  22 shared

• Wendell P. Cropper

  University of Florida

  20 shared

• Gregory Starr

  University of Alabama

  19 shared

• Alain Rocheteau

  Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel

  16 shared

Labs

• Forest Biology Research CooperativePI