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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encroaching sandy land

the road through this region was recently improved by the local government. in an effort to secure their investment, they are taking huge steps to stabilize the moving sand dunes to prevent them from burying the new road. in the foreground you can see the checkerboard of maize stalks that they used to slow the erosion and hold everything in place long enough to allow some vegetation to establish. this method can be quite successful; in sites nearby, dunes have been stabilized with this method in a period of several years. however, this region of mobile dunes is quite extensive, and it is unlikely that any governmental effort will extend beyond the corridor immediately along the road.

Tagged: desertification Inner Mongolia china

Posted on July 7, 2009