Our Research.
Dynamics of Integrated Social-Ecological Systems
Decision Making for Future Land Use Planning under Climate Change
Preventing biodiversity loss and maintaining ecosystem functioning on Earth is one of the grand challenges facing humankind, but developing a better scientific understanding of climate change is not enough. We must couple strong science and technological advances with effective decision making that uses that science for conservation and climate action. We work at the interface of the social and environmental systems to co-design solutions that benefit both humans and nature.
Forecasting Biodiversity into the Future
We are part of the biodiversity and biosphere forecasting institute (BioFI). BioFI is comprised of diverse group of ecologists, geographers, computer scientists and engineers working to model and understand the fate and functioning of our biosphere.
Ecosystem Restoration
We work with GreenDroneAZ and the U.S. Forest Service on the Lower Salt River Restoration Project to protect one of the few remaining low elevation desert riparian vegetation communities in the state. Using drones, machine learning, and ground-based data collection, we map invasive plant species so that native plant abundance can be increased, wild fire risk can be reduced, and water quality and quantity can be improved for people and wildlife.
Computational Landscape Ecology
We work at the interface of computational spatial science and landscape ecology to develop new methods for analyzing landscape patterns and processes and scale those methods from plots to landscapes, regions, and beyond.
Drones
Unpiloted aircraft systems, or drones, are rapidly becoming a critical tool in ecosystem monitoring and biodiversity response. We develop the basic foundational science needed to apply these tools to conservation issues and use them for a range of environmental applications.