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My current projects include studies of the effects of mechanical thinning on tree growth, the use of remote sensing to assess burn severity, and issues regarding the oak regeneration problem in the northeastern US. [Updates coming soon!]
 Photo: Eric Keith |
Wildland fires are becoming more frequent and more severe in the United States, due in part to climate change and in part to long-term fire suppression and the subsequent build-up of fuels. Following wildfires of greater severity than what were historically present in an area, plant community recovery trajectories may diverge from the pre-disturbance plant community. My dissertation research examined the drivers of post-wildfire vegetation recovery trajectories in the Lost Pines, a woodland in central Texas dominated by the western-most stands of loblolly pine and several species of oak.
 Photo: Melissa L. Gray |
My work focused on potential responses of Penstemon palmeri, an herbaceous flowering plant used in ecological restorations in the southwestern US, to warming. I conducted pollinator observations and collected morphological and count data along an elevational gradient in Zion National Park, UT, with the help of Melissa Petruzzello. I also conducted a growth chamber experiment using current and predicted future temperature regimes to help assess the relationship between temperature, morphology and reproductive success in P. palmeri.