Research Interests
I am a research forester with the US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis Program (FIA). I'm part of the carbon science group, so most of my current work revolves around forest carbon: incorporating remote sensing into biomass estimation, estimating how carbon moves through different demographic pools (seedlings -> live trees -> dead wood, etc.), ways to leverage the national design of the FIA program to better understand carbon dynamics, among others. My background is in spatial and community ecology, so I try to incorporate these topics into my research, for example, estimating the effects of shifting forest communities on carbon stocks and stock changes.
Current Projects
Currently, I am working on two main projects. First, the effects of mismatches between remote sensing and field data collection on biomass estimation, for example, when lidar indicates the presence of trees on a plot but FIA data collection said there was no biomass. How does inclusion/exclusion of these plots in biomass estimation affect accuracy and uncertainty?
Second, I am working on improving the way we think about tree demography in the context of forest carbon. Eventually, I'd like to be able to use the FIA database to link different carbon stocks (seedlings, saplings, live trees, standing dead, down dead, etc.) both within a forest at a single time, as well as through time as forests shift in species composition and demography, especially in response to climate change and other forest stressors.
About me
I consider myself to be an outdoorsman who likes science, vs. a scientist who likes to be outdoors. Some of my favorite things to do are fishing, climbing, hiking/backpacking, and camping, when the weather's good, but I also enjoy reading/listening to audiobooks and cooking when I can't get outside.
Education
PhD, Purdue University, 2020, Forestry and Natural Resources
BS, Calvin College, 2015, Biology
Favorite tree: Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) - a study species for one of my dissertation chapters
More information:
FIA Carbon Science Group website: https://www.fia.fs.fed.us/forestcarbon/
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Ddx6FzIAAAAJ&hl=en
