Meeting human needs while sustaining the planet’s life support systems is the fundamental challenge of our time. While theoretical notions of the goals of sustainability science seek a unified path forward, realities on the ground present challenges. Too often, strategies…
With long-time collaborator Trenton Franz, we recently developed a dynamic cellular automata model that incorporates the factors that our empirical research has shown to strongly govern vegetation dynamics at the patch scale (2-4m): rain event frequency and intensity, surface water…
This project evolved as a partnership with Eva Kaye-Zwiebel, to further analyze her dissertation research findings through the lens of social capital and ecosystem services. The resulting manuscript argues that neighboring communities express different perceptions of ecosystem services and also…
With Trenton Franz and Dan Rubenstein, we have been monitoring 24 30-m transects on a hillslope at Koija, Kenya for 7 years. On each transect, we monitor the vegetation patch structure, composition, and soil surface condition using the Landscape Function…
Georgia has one of the least-developed coastlines on the Atlantic seaboard, and a lot of that coastline is salt marsh — hypnotically beautiful salt marsh. While the graceful mosaics of water, marsh, and upland hammocks may appear “untouched,” coastal ecosystems…
Jekyll Island State Park is a veritable “turducken” of some of the best things the Georgia Coast has to offer: It’s a state park with beautiful natural areas, the Sea Turtle Center, and fantastic conservation programs; it’s a tourist destination…
This project is investigating how and why Sansevieria volkensii, a humble succulent native to Kenyan drylands, has become a pernicious pest plant. The proliferation has coincided with intensifying grazing pressure in the area and drastic reduction of grass cover. The…
This interesting synthesis of transcendental factors that can be “deal-makers and deal-breakers” for pastoralist sustainability is now off the back burner and getting properly cooked and seasoned to be served up to the public quite soon!