Evidence-based Restoration Lab

Currently working on the Community Assembly in Prairie Restorations (CAPER) project to understand how changes in plant communities impact ecosystem function, I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2022. Focused on prairie restorations and remnants in south-central Nebraska, my dissertation research sought to understand the role of variation in grasslands over time. Specifically, if human-controllable (like prescribed fire) and not controllable (like soils) variation leads to grassland communities collapsing (losing plant diversity) or diverging in composition over time. My main finding was that both restored and remnant grasslands exhibit similar patterns over time (up to 20 years) regardless of site and management differences, and also maintain plant diversity over time.

 

The work I am most passionate about is empirically grounded grassland research that immediately benefits land managers and allows us to more effectively restore ecosystems by what has been called (not by me) "the science and practice of applied optimism".