Maria Strack, Ph. D
Maria Strack is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo and Tier II Canada Research Chair in Ecosystems and Climate. She received her PhD in 2006 from McMaster University where she studied the potential impact of climate change on peatland (wetland with organic soils, or peat) carbon cycling. Since then she has built an innovative and internationally recognized research program that investigates peatland greenhouse gas (GHG) exchange with a particular focus on managed ecosystems, including disturbance impacts and restoration and reclamation outcomes. Dr. Strack currently collaborates on peatland restoration research projects across Canada with partners in the horticultural peat, forestry and oil sands sectors, and government and non-governmental organizations. Results from her research have been incorporated in Canada’s GHG National Inventory Report to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change and she was a lead author on the chapter “Rewetted Organic Soils” in 2013 Supplement to 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands.