A5018627075- Urban Green Space and Health
- Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Urban Agriculture and Sustainability
- Urban Heat Island Mitigation
- Fire effects on ecosystems
- Remote Sensing and LiDAR Applications
- Remote Sensing in Agriculture
- Tree-ring climate responses
- SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Archaeology and Natural History
- Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Lichen and fungal ecology
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Forest Ecology and Biodiversity Studies
- Forest ecology and management
- Remote Sensing and Land Use
- Forest Management and Policy
- Botany and Plant Ecology Studies
- Long-Term Effects of COVID-19
- Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
- Forest Insect Ecology and Management
- Species Distribution and Climate Change
- Impact of Light on Environment and Health
Morton Arboretum
2016-2025
Purdue University West Lafayette
2022-2025
Northwestern University
2017
Residential lawns are highly managed ecosystems that occur in urbanized landscapes across the United States. Because they ubiquitous, good systems which to study potential homogenizing effects of urban land use and management together with continental-scale climate on ecosystem structure functioning. We hypothesized similar homeowner preferences residential areas States would lead low plant species diversity relatively homogeneous vegetation broad geographical regions. also lawn richness...
Abstract Urban ecosystems are widely hypothesized to be more ecologically homogeneous than natural ecosystems. We argue that urban plant communities assemble from a complex mix of horticultural and regional species pools, evaluate the homogenization hypothesis by comparing cultivated spontaneously occurring vegetation area across seven major U.S. cities. There was limited support for diversity , as spontaneous yard flora had greater numbers areas, phylogenetic also greater. However, yards...
Abstract Forest patches in urban landscapes make outsized contributions to biodiversity, ecosystem function, and human health well‐being. However, urbanization can alter environmental conditions that underpin forest health. Most studies of have focused on few across a single metropolitan region, synthesis is needed understand broader patterns. We assessed variation among measures land cover gradients ecoregions by determining (1) whether the degree urban, agricultural, forested surrounding...
Abstract Urban natural area forests provide cities with crucial ecosystem services, including carbon storage and sequestration. Although previous work from a single city has suggested that urban may be carbon‐rich dominated by native species, it is unclear if pattern widespread. Indeed, little known about the species composition in these green spaces, or how compared similar rural forests. Here, we use data collected Forests Cities network to quantify stored across 1852 plots eight of most...
Abstract Cultivation and spread of non‐native plant species may result in either phylogenetic homogenization (increasing similarity) or differentiation (decreasing urban floras. However, it is unknown how influence cultivated versus spontaneously occurring cities, which traits are associated with that promote differentiation. In this study, we compared effects spontaneous yard floras across within seven widely distributed U.S. cities. Additionally, explored explained their particular...
<title>Abstract</title> Trees are key sources of cooling in natural and urban ecosystems across the globe (1–3). Increasing tree cover is one popular nature-based approach to reducing excessive heat cities where majority world’s population lives (4–6). The effects trees arise from both shading evapotranspiration have been widely demonstrated with on-the-ground remotely sensed data (1,7,8). However, depends on water availability, which may become more scarce many regions due climate change...
The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is a partnership of more than 200 organizations across the seven county metro region. CRTI believes that trees are critical to our quality life, and its mission ensure healthy, abundant, diverse, equitably distributed provide needed benefits all people communities in Our key goals inspire value trees, increase region’s tree canopy, reduce threats enhance oak ecosystems. has built upon work programs others, experience partners shape urban forest...
The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) has collected one of the largest data sets on urban forestry in United States. This informs where and how CRTI prioritizes its work capacity building. been incorporated into interactive online resources that communities neighborhoods can access to help decision makers, landowners, managers understand what plant, value forest, impacts woody invasive species, heat island challenges, opportunities exist for oak ecosystem enhancement. helps partners...
In the Chicago region, common buckthorn and bush honeysuckle stand out as dominant invasive species, accounting for over 40% of regional forest coverage. Their proliferation leads to formation dense thickets that hinder sunlight penetration, resulting in diminished native plant diversity understory. Accurate detection these species across this region is essential effective management invasives. Airborne LiDAR datasets show strong potential detecting distinctive structural patterns created by...