As a plant community ecologist, I have two main research projects. One is on Mount St. Helens in southwestern Washington State. This is an ongoing long-term study (begun in 1985) of primary succession using permanent plots. Factors I study include the relative importance of facilitation and inhibition as succession mechanism; community development; spatial spread analysis; and conifer seedling demography. The other project is riparian ecology on the middle Sacramento River near Chico. I work with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on methods to measure the success of restored riparian forests; to document remnant riparian forest structure and function; and study factors affecting seedling establishment of woody riparian species and the pattern of riparian succession. Past work on the Sacramento River includes studies of nitrogen cycling, soil carbon, and arthropod indicators of forest age and restoration success.
Current Graduate Students:
Charles McClain http://cdmcclain.googlepages.com/
Prairie Johnston
Amber Holt