Tree regeneration dynamics in western US forests

We are examining the demography and timing of recruitment pulses in burned and unburned areas of the western US to understand how annual climate conditions limit tree regeneration.

Modeling plant hydraulic failure and its influence on tree regeneration in low elevation forests

We have coupled a ecohydrological model with a plant hydraulics model to understand how drought constrains tree recruitment in western US forests.

Using historical datasets to test uncertainty in species distribution model projections through time.

We are investigating the predictive ability of species distribution models in novel temporal and spatial domains using historical and contemporary vegetation and climate data from the mountain ranges of California, USA. We are examining how species functional traits, land-use type, and disturbance regime influences model skill and uncertainty.

The role of terrain of terrain in shaping the adaptive response of biota to climate change

We are quantifying the extent to which landscape physiography influences regional climate patterns and climate displacement rates for both temperature and water balance. We are also examining historical data and paleoecological records to assess how organisms utilized terrain to mitigate against climate changes of the Quaternary. 

Past, current, and future fire regimes of the western US

We are quantifying the relative role of anthropogenic, climatic, and biotic influences on fire probability in the western US using multiple modeling approaches. We are also studying the transformation, loss, and recovery of forest carbon resources due to management and wildfire.  

• FOR 538; ModernApplied Statistical Modeling in Ecology 
• FOR 595; Landscape Ecology
• FOR 202; Forest Measurements 
• BIO 451; Landscape ecology of the Northern Rockies