Reassembling damaged ecological communities

Abstract:
Staggeringly large areas of the world have been committed for ecological restoration to combat the interrelated challenges of mass extinction, dangerous climate change, and diminishing human wellbeing. By one estimate, the area committed for restoration exceeds the size of China. Done well, large-scale ecological restoration has the potential to prevent tens of thousands of extinctions, sequester massive amounts of atmospheric carbon, and improve the lives of billions of people. But done poorly, actions taken in the name of restoration will destroy critical habitats, exacerbate climate change, and deepen social inequality. In many cases the difference between these two futures will depend on our collective understanding of community and landscape ecology. My lab focuses on improving restoration outcomes for society and nature through applied research and capacity building. In this seminar, I will present our research on how and where to restore tropical rain forests and temperate grasslands, respectively the most diverse and threatened ecosystems worldwide.

About the Speaker:
As a restoration ecologist, I aim to improve restoration outcomes for biodiversity conservation, climate stabilization, and human livelihoods by providing better answers to the question How and where can we best restore damaged ecosystems? My students and I approach this question through ecological and socio-ecological research in tropical forests in Ecuador and in temperate forests, woodlands, and grasslands in the southeastern US. I lead Virginia Tech’s Ecological Restoration major, advise the Society for Ecological Restoration student association at Virginia Tech, and coordinate Virginia Tech’s Biocultural and Ecological Restoration Initiative. I cofounded and edit a blog, Natural History of Ecological Restoration, and am a coordinating editor for Restoration Ecology.

Contact

  Katie Kull
  kak6469@psu.edu