Research Statement

Climate, Fire, and Vegetation Dynamics of the Chihuahuan Desert Borderlands

The Sky Island archipelagos of the Sierra Madre Oriental contain a unique array of flora and fauna found nowhere else in the world. Yet, the vegetation dynamics of Madrean evergreen woodlands are little studied and poorly understood. The stand structure and species composition of these elevationally restricted forests are thought to vary in response to climate, disturbance regime and topography. Few studies have investigated the role of these factors in ecosystem maintenance and species diversity. I propose to apply a hierarchical approach to investigate the controls on the vegetation dynamics in Big Bend National Park and the Maderas del Carmen Protected Area. Local, landscape, and regional-scale fire and vegetation dynamics will be derived from data on historical climates, fire regimes, forest structure, and species composition. This information will be used to implement fire and vegetation management practices and to predict effects of recent changes in climate and fire on ecosystem structure and function.