M Anne Naeth is a Professor of Land Reclamation and Restoration Ecology in the Department of Renewable Resources, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences, at the University of Alberta. Anne is co-lead of the Future Energy Systems theme on Resilient Reclaimed Land and Water Systems. Her Future Energy Systems research focus is to develop ecologically and economically effective methods for land reclamation that can be applied to legacy, current and future energy systems; and to ascertain longer term reclamation and restoration trajectories in ecosystems following these energy system disturbances. This will provide a scientific foundation for development and modification of reclamation criteria for resilient, reclaimed ecosystems.

Anne has decades of experience conducting research on disturbed and reclaimed ecosystems throughout Canada. Her research program is applied and theoretical and focuses on plant-soil-water relationships, understanding and defining processes inherent in these relationships, their effects on ecosystem structure and function, their response to disturbance and their role in reclamation after disturbance. Research areas include accelerating soil-plant community development; plant species selection and establishment; impacts of non native species; bioengineering; native plants, their mycorrhizae and microbial communities; soil remediation, bioremediation and phytoremediation; soil amendments, particularly waste products; and development of anthroposols.

Anne obtained a BSc in biology from the University of Saskatchewan and then completed a double MSc in soil and plant sciences and a PhD in plant sciences from the University of Alberta. She is currently Director of the Land Reclamation International Graduate School; Director, Future Energy Systems; Director, Energy Systems Signature Area at the University of Alberta; Editor of the Canadian Journal of Soil Science and Associate Editor of Soil Research.  From 2014 to 2019, Anne was Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. From 2010 to 2015, Anne was the land reclamation theme lead for the Helmholtz-Alberta Initiative (HAI). In 2009 and 2010, she served on the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel on Oil Sands. She has worked extensively with government and industry and served as a senior mediator with the Alberta Environmental Appeals Board for 14 years. Anne has served on the executives of numerous professional organizations, editorial boards and expert advisory boards including as President of the Canadian Society of Soil Science and the Canadian Land Reclamation Association.