Plant populations, disturbance, and more-than-human environmental change
My research on plant ecologies spans tropical forests, agricultural landscapes, and grasslands. Across these projects, I was interested in how plant populations respond to harvesting, disturbance, climate change, and human land use, and how ecological research can inform more sustainable relationships with plants and landscapes.
Sustainable Harvest of Caapi
With Michael Coe and team of Shipibo technicians, we conducted a demographic study of wild Banisteriopsis caapi vines to determine sustainable harvest levels and identify the life stages most critical to population stability.
The project combines ecological field methods with local knowledge and is intended to support sustainable harvesting practices for a cultural and economically important medicinal plant.
Climate Change and Grazing in Grasslands
For my master’s research, I investigated how shifts in the seasonality of precipitation influence ecosystem sensitivity to grazing.
This work combined a global meta-analysis with field research on a climate-change and grazing experiment on the Tibetan Plateau, examining how altered precipitation regimes and herbivory interact to shape grassland vegetation.
Related Work
Masters thesis: “The timing of precipitation is important..”
Sustainable harvest of caapi
