field*conditions

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field*conditions

I am a biologist.
You can find me in the center of the venn diagram where ecology, conservation and restoration intersect with the socio-economic realities that shape how we interact with & impact the ecosystems around us.

My dissertation research examines the process of desertification. The bulk of this work occurs in the American southwest, but I also spent the summer of 2009 in northern China to learn about desertification in Inner Mongolia. I am funded by the following grants & fellowships:
-National Science Foundation's East Asia Pacific Summer Institute, which seeks to promote international research collaborations between American graduate students and scientists in Asia.
-American Philosophical Society's Lewis & Clark Fund for Exploration
-Ariel Appleton Research Fellowship
-Appleton Whittell Research Ranch Apacheria Fellowship
-Sigma Xi

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  • desertification step 2 in dry years, many farmers give up on planting crops.  this land was once grassland, converted to cropland (usually maize) and now left bare for this growing season.  the bare soil is sensitive to the high velocity winds in this region, which erode the soil and carry it far and wide. even if the fields are planted in summer, the soil is bare during the winter when the winds are the strongest. these fields are adjacent to one of my study plots, and the deposition of sand has been so intense that it keeps burying the fence posts.  the director of the research station tells me that they have had to dig out and reposition the fence posts twice in the past ten years. there is so much dust in the air here that on windy days (most days) i sweep my floor at least twice and cover my laptop keyboard when it is not in use. (desertification step one)

    desertification step 2

    in dry years, many farmers give up on planting crops.  this land was once grassland, converted to cropland (usually maize) and now left bare for this growing season.  the bare soil is sensitive to the high velocity winds in this region, which erode the soil and carry it far and wide. even if the fields are planted in summer, the soil is bare during the winter when the winds are the strongest.

    these fields are adjacent to one of my study plots, and the deposition of sand has been so intense that it keeps burying the fence posts.  the director of the research station tells me that they have had to dig out and reposition the fence posts twice in the past ten years.

    there is so much dust in the air here that on windy days (most days) i sweep my floor at least twice and cover my laptop keyboard when it is not in use.

    (desertification step one)

    Posted on July 6, 2009

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