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Research in Landscape Ecology
Landscape ecology is concerned with the relationship between spatial patterns and ecological processes in heterogeneous ecological systems. Disturbances (e.g., wildfire, hurricanes, forest cutting, grazing) are integral to most ecological systems, and considerable ecological research is devoted to understanding the causes and consequences of varying disturbance frequency and severity. We have studied fire regimes in California chaparral ecosystems and the relationship between spatial vegetation patterns and fire as a disturbance process in these fire-prone ecosystems. We are also interested in how interactions among fire, grazing and the biophysical environment promote dynamic vegetation mosaics in Mediterranean-climate landscapes. Another line of research is concerned with the demography, distribution and abundance of oaks in California. Our oak research involves many collaborators and includes studies of seedling and sapling survival in grazed and non-grazed grasslands, pollen dispersal and gene flow in valley oak, patterns of acorn production in blue oak, and effects of road systems on establishment of valley oak seedlings and saplings.
Follow this link to recent and current research projects in landscape ecology.