Alison E. King
@alisonelinor.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of Soil Science, University of Maine
Soil organic matter, biogeochemistry, agroecology, sustainable soil management
Soil Functions and Trajectories (SOFT) Lab https://www.thesoftlaboratory.com/
Soil organic matter, biogeochemistry, agroecology, sustainable soil management
Soil Functions and Trajectories (SOFT) Lab https://www.thesoftlaboratory.com/
Reposted by Alison E. King
We can map the world's existing forests with incredible accuracy now, but clearly we cannot (or will not) stop them from disappearing at rapid rates almost everywhere. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🌎
Natural forests of the world – a 2020 baseline for deforestation and degradation monitoring - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Natural forests of the world – a 2020 baseline for deforestation and degradation monitoring
www.nature.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:18 PM
We can map the world's existing forests with incredible accuracy now, but clearly we cannot (or will not) stop them from disappearing at rapid rates almost everywhere. www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🌎
Reposted by Alison E. King
To quote my friend @drkatemarvel.bsky.social, climate change won't make humanity extinct but we can do better than "not extinct". Raise your standards people!
October 28, 2025 at 8:46 PM
To quote my friend @drkatemarvel.bsky.social, climate change won't make humanity extinct but we can do better than "not extinct". Raise your standards people!
Reposted by Alison E. King
It's official. Nearly 7 million people. Today is the single largest day of protest in American history. Americans from all corners of the country are standing up and saying #NoKings. This is what peaceful, patriotic protest looks like.
October 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
It's official. Nearly 7 million people. Today is the single largest day of protest in American history. Americans from all corners of the country are standing up and saying #NoKings. This is what peaceful, patriotic protest looks like.
Reposted by Alison E. King
Reposted by Alison E. King
How an academic betrayal led me to change my authorship practices | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
How an academic betrayal led me to change my authorship practices
“Every cleaned data set, debugged script, and refined figure deserves acknowledgment,” this researcher writes
www.science.org
August 28, 2025 at 10:05 AM
How an academic betrayal led me to change my authorship practices | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Alison E. King
The final version of this paper is now published @newphyt.bsky.social
The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Long-term databases as an antidote to the shifting baseline syndrome in global change.
🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology
The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Long-term databases as an antidote to the shifting baseline syndrome in global change.
🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology
Climate warming is not a recent phenomenon; it has had detectable impacts on plants for at least 134 years!
The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming @newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology @cideinvestiga.bsky.social @csic.es
The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming @newphyt.bsky.social
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology @cideinvestiga.bsky.social @csic.es
August 22, 2025 at 9:22 PM
The final version of this paper is now published @newphyt.bsky.social
The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Long-term databases as an antidote to the shifting baseline syndrome in global change.
🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology
The onset of phenological plant response to climate warming
nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Long-term databases as an antidote to the shifting baseline syndrome in global change.
🧪🌎🌿🌐🌳 🍁 #PlantBiology
Reposted by Alison E. King
The paper highlights actionable steps to help improve these double standards, including more RESEARCH RELATED LANGUAGE in P &T letters for Black, Hispanic and Indigenous women to improve their outcomes.
Underrepresented minority faculty in the USA face a double standard in promotion and tenure decisions - Nature Human Behaviour
Masters-Waage et al. report that underrepresented minority (URM) faculty in the USA face barriers in the promotion and tenure process, receiving more negative votes and fewer unanimous positive decisi...
www.nature.com
August 15, 2025 at 12:52 PM
The paper highlights actionable steps to help improve these double standards, including more RESEARCH RELATED LANGUAGE in P &T letters for Black, Hispanic and Indigenous women to improve their outcomes.
Reposted by Alison E. King
Call for manuscripts - joint special Issue #Geoderma / #GeodermaRegional - "Tropical Soil Science: Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Biogeochemistry, Plant-Soil Interactions and Climate change Mitigation"
Geoderma: tinyurl.com/bdf2989c
Geoderma Regional: tinyurl.com/3yarxaan
photos: Sebastian Doetterl
Geoderma: tinyurl.com/bdf2989c
Geoderma Regional: tinyurl.com/3yarxaan
photos: Sebastian Doetterl
August 12, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Call for manuscripts - joint special Issue #Geoderma / #GeodermaRegional - "Tropical Soil Science: Bridging Knowledge Gaps in Biogeochemistry, Plant-Soil Interactions and Climate change Mitigation"
Geoderma: tinyurl.com/bdf2989c
Geoderma Regional: tinyurl.com/3yarxaan
photos: Sebastian Doetterl
Geoderma: tinyurl.com/bdf2989c
Geoderma Regional: tinyurl.com/3yarxaan
photos: Sebastian Doetterl
Reposted by Alison E. King
Climate change is altering the natural world’s soundscape, with declining bird, insect, and amphibian populations leading to quieter environments. This “sensory extinction” is exacerbated by noise pollution from human activities.
Listen to these recordings in this article from @sabs.bsky.social!
Listen to these recordings in this article from @sabs.bsky.social!
How Climate Change Is Transforming The Soundtrack Of The Natural World | Defector
It is easy enough to read about the climate crisis through the dozens of devastating stories that run each week, warning us of the people who will be displaced or otherwise harmed by the planet’s rapi...
defector.com
August 12, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Climate change is altering the natural world’s soundscape, with declining bird, insect, and amphibian populations leading to quieter environments. This “sensory extinction” is exacerbated by noise pollution from human activities.
Listen to these recordings in this article from @sabs.bsky.social!
Listen to these recordings in this article from @sabs.bsky.social!
Reposted by Alison E. King
No, you're not a leader in science just because you publish high-impact articles. True leadership involves inspiring people, fostering collaborative research environments, and driving positive changes at all levels, from staff to organizational.
July 20, 2025 at 10:45 AM
No, you're not a leader in science just because you publish high-impact articles. True leadership involves inspiring people, fostering collaborative research environments, and driving positive changes at all levels, from staff to organizational.
Paper now out in Science Advances — “Soil carbon formation is promoted by saturation deficit and existing mineral-associated carbon, not by microbial carbon-use efficiency”
with Noah Sokol
science.org/doi/epdf/10....
with Noah Sokol
science.org/doi/epdf/10....
June 13, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Paper now out in Science Advances — “Soil carbon formation is promoted by saturation deficit and existing mineral-associated carbon, not by microbial carbon-use efficiency”
with Noah Sokol
science.org/doi/epdf/10....
with Noah Sokol
science.org/doi/epdf/10....
Reposted by Alison E. King
Thrilled to share our new paper in @science.org describing our discovery that bacteria can switch from competitors to bonafide predators when resources run dry—arming nanoscale “spears” (T6SS) to stab & consume neighbours.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#MicroSKy #Microbiology
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#MicroSKy #Microbiology
Antagonism as a foraging strategy in microbial communities
In natural habitats, nutrient availability limits bacterial growth. We discovered that bacteria can overcome this limitation by acquiring nutrients by lysing neighboring cells through contact-dependen...
www.science.org
June 13, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Thrilled to share our new paper in @science.org describing our discovery that bacteria can switch from competitors to bonafide predators when resources run dry—arming nanoscale “spears” (T6SS) to stab & consume neighbours.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#MicroSKy #Microbiology
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#MicroSKy #Microbiology
Reposted by Alison E. King
There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
May 31, 2025 at 4:43 AM
There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
Reposted by Alison E. King
This represents a systematic dismantling of the US STEM ecosystem that will create lasting negative consequences for innovation and competitiveness.
Trump administration cuts to NSF will result in more than 200,000 FEWER people per year involved in basic science, training, and education - what should have been the next generation of US scientists. This isn't even eating your seed corn, it is setting your seed corn on fire and salting the earth.
May 30, 2025 at 11:32 PM
This represents a systematic dismantling of the US STEM ecosystem that will create lasting negative consequences for innovation and competitiveness.
Reposted by Alison E. King
I'm glad to announce our latest publication in Soil Letters, a Highlight paper that shows calcium is associated with specific carbon decomposition products across different soil types and ecosystems
soil.copernicus.org/articles/11/...
soil.copernicus.org/articles/11/...
Calcium is associated with specific soil organic carbon decomposition products
Abstract. Calcium (Ca) may contribute to the preservation of soil organic carbon (SOC) in more ecosystems than previously thought. Here, we provide evidence that Ca is co-located with SOC compounds th...
soil.copernicus.org
May 20, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I'm glad to announce our latest publication in Soil Letters, a Highlight paper that shows calcium is associated with specific carbon decomposition products across different soil types and ecosystems
soil.copernicus.org/articles/11/...
soil.copernicus.org/articles/11/...
Reposted by Alison E. King
Many years ago I ventured down a “what is domestication” rabbit hole w Kathryn Lord @gregerlarson.bsky.social & Robin Allaby. This is where we ended up! @pnas.org www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
A universally applicable definition for domestication | PNAS
The process of domestication is commonly perceived as a human achievement, and domestic
species are typically assumed to be those under human contr...
www.pnas.org
May 15, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Many years ago I ventured down a “what is domestication” rabbit hole w Kathryn Lord @gregerlarson.bsky.social & Robin Allaby. This is where we ended up! @pnas.org www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Alison E. King
A victory for the federal scientific workforce! We could not stand by while this irreparable harm continues at NSF, NOAA and all our scientific agencies.
TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.
TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.
May 10, 2025 at 2:03 AM
A victory for the federal scientific workforce! We could not stand by while this irreparable harm continues at NSF, NOAA and all our scientific agencies.
TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.
TODAY the judge granted our request to temporarily HALT the mass firings at federal agencies under Trump’s Executive Order.
Reposted by Alison E. King
BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
May 1, 2025 at 10:58 PM
BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Alison E. King
🔔BREAKING🔔
The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.
This is censorship disguised as oversight.
Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.
This is censorship disguised as oversight.
Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
May 2, 2025 at 1:31 AM
🔔BREAKING🔔
The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.
This is censorship disguised as oversight.
Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The NSF has frozen all research grant awards—cutting off life-saving science midstream and demanding ideological screenings for future funding.
This is censorship disguised as oversight.
Here’s how you can help us spread the word ➡️🧵(1/3):
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Alison E. King
My PhD student's NSF grant was terminated today. Her dissertation investigates why air pollution monitoring, metrics, and regulations don't properly capture the harms experienced by marginalized communities--esp in the most polluted Detroit neighborhoods. She and I are happy to talk with press etc.
NSF Award Search: Award # 2240343 - Constructing Credible Knowledge and Expertise in Air Pollution Regulation and Monitoring: The Problem of Quantification Lock
www.nsf.gov
April 21, 2025 at 8:41 PM
My PhD student's NSF grant was terminated today. Her dissertation investigates why air pollution monitoring, metrics, and regulations don't properly capture the harms experienced by marginalized communities--esp in the most polluted Detroit neighborhoods. She and I are happy to talk with press etc.
Reposted by Alison E. King
NSF will no longer support any research on mis- or disinformation. 😳
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Updates on NSF Priorities
www.nsf.gov
April 18, 2025 at 8:31 PM
NSF will no longer support any research on mis- or disinformation. 😳
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...
Reposted by Alison E. King
NSF announced that it has begun terminating awards. It's unclear how many affected. Sources say it could be over 200
It's also re-reviewing proposals that had already been approved for funding
Here's a breakdown of what's happened this week: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
#ChemSky #Science
It's also re-reviewing proposals that had already been approved for funding
Here's a breakdown of what's happened this week: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
#ChemSky #Science
DOGE’s orders threaten NSF grants and proposals
Already-approved grants were sent back for review, while 200 active ones may face termination
cen.acs.org
April 18, 2025 at 8:54 PM
NSF announced that it has begun terminating awards. It's unclear how many affected. Sources say it could be over 200
It's also re-reviewing proposals that had already been approved for funding
Here's a breakdown of what's happened this week: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
#ChemSky #Science
It's also re-reviewing proposals that had already been approved for funding
Here's a breakdown of what's happened this week: cen.acs.org/policy/resea...
#ChemSky #Science
Reposted by Alison E. King
“I just have not heard anybody say, ‘We wish the government would spend less money trying to cure cancer or trying to deal with Alzheimer’s,’” said Jeremy Berg, a University of Pittsburgh professor and former director of an NIH institute.
2/3
2/3
April 18, 2025 at 5:23 PM
“I just have not heard anybody say, ‘We wish the government would spend less money trying to cure cancer or trying to deal with Alzheimer’s,’” said Jeremy Berg, a University of Pittsburgh professor and former director of an NIH institute.
2/3
2/3
Reposted by Alison E. King
HUGE WIN: A federal judge just issued a lengthy TRO prohibiting the Trump administration from freezing federal funds to Maine over their policies protecting transgender youth.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
April 11, 2025 at 9:30 PM
HUGE WIN: A federal judge just issued a lengthy TRO prohibiting the Trump administration from freezing federal funds to Maine over their policies protecting transgender youth.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...