The Weed and Applied Plant Ecology Lab works in mixed-use landscapes that are dominated by agricultural fields and forests. We study the effects of various forms of disturbance (including management) on plant abundance and distribution. We have a broad array of projects underway that share the common theme of sustainable, ecologically informed management. We build on our ecological understanding of factors influencing plant distribution and abundance and use those insights to inform management actions. Our approach entails conducting empirical research in our study systems, then enhancing our understanding and insight from those field studies with data analysis and modeling. Most members of the lab are equally comfortable in the field and in writing "R" code for data analysis.
Our work has grown increasingly "spatially explicit," which is to say we've recognized the importance of context in the design of our empirical work and in our population dynamics modeling. Our work is making a difference, for example our papers in BioScience, Ecological Applications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Weed Science, and Trends in Ecology and Evolution have been picked up by the likes of the New York Times and have resulted in Congressional testimony and presentations at the national EPA headquarters. Graduates of the lab are on a roll, assuming academic and research positions at Cornell, U of New Hampshire, U of Nebraska, Colorado State U, Cleveland University, and the national USDA-ARS lab in Beltsville, MD (to name a few) as well as important agency, farming and private sector work.
Our work has grown increasingly "spatially explicit," which is to say we've recognized the importance of context in the design of our empirical work and in our population dynamics modeling. Our work is making a difference, for example our papers in BioScience, Ecological Applications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Weed Science, and Trends in Ecology and Evolution have been picked up by the likes of the New York Times and have resulted in Congressional testimony and presentations at the national EPA headquarters. Graduates of the lab are on a roll, assuming academic and research positions at Cornell, U of New Hampshire, U of Nebraska, Colorado State U, Cleveland University, and the national USDA-ARS lab in Beltsville, MD (to name a few) as well as important agency, farming and private sector work.
The following video provides an introduction to our lab and people working in it. For more specific research topics, please visit "Our work" page on this site.
