Current Projects

Fire in the southern Appalachians:
Our research spanning two decades examines the effects of repeated prescribed fire and wildfire on fuel loading, stand structure, and forest regeneration in upland oak ecosystems on the Cumberland Plateau in eastern Kentucky. Conducted on sites in the Daniel Boone National Forest, our work relies on ground-based experimentation and sampling as well as the use of Landsat to detect changes in forest structure through time.

Urban forestry:
Urban forests are increasingly recognized as a critical resource for addressing issues of sustainability, both through the ways they help to modulate human energy use, air pollution, and stormwater runoff, but also because they serve as a nexus for human interactions with nature and the environment. The Forest Ecology lab group is a key contributor to the Urban Forest Initiative. See our website at: https://ufi.ca.uky.edu/