Current projects
Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change in Exurban Southern New England Landscapes
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Funding: USDA McIntire-Stennis
Collaborators: Connecticut DEEP, University of Rhode Island, Colorado State University, USDA Forest Service We are leading the development of a study targeting oak forests in southern New England as a part of the national Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change network. Southern New England Oak Forests extend across multiple wooded parcels of varying size and ownership status in a parcelized and fragmented landscape. This project includes considerations of the social dimensions of managing small parcels in the context of an exurban landscape. Rather than a single site, treatments will be replicated across the regional landscape on multiple ownerships. |
Silviculture in the City: Urban and Climate Adapted Management Strategies for Forested Natural Areas in the Northeastern U.S.
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Funding: USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program
Collaborators: USDA Forest Service, Connecticut DEEP, University of Delaware, Rutgers University, UMass We are helping lead a regional research and management network focused on promoting and applying Urban Silviculture practices taking into account multiple interacting stressors. Urban forested natural areas, or forest patches, are distinct from street and park trees in how they need to be managed; restoring these habitats represents a transformative of opportunity to simultaneously address social justice, climate change, and the economy. We are the lead research group focused on the Hartford metropolitan area research site. |
Stormwise: Managing forests to promote resilience to storms (web)
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Funding: UConn Eversource Energy Center (Web)
Collaborators: Eversource, Connecticut DEEP, CAES Stormwise is a forest vegetation management program with the goal of reducing the risk of tree-related storm damage to power lines. Implementing proper long-term management practices in woodlands along utility corridors will create healthy, storm resistant and aesthetically pleasing trees and forest stands. The development of Stormwise is compelled by recent catastrophic storm events in Connecticut. |
Past projects
Restoration of oak ecosystems in human-dominated landscapes |
Funding: Morton Arboretum Center for Tree Science, Lake County (IL) Forest Preserve District
Collaborators: Lake County (IL) Forest Preserve District Summary: Oaks and oak forests provide myriad benefits within urbanized landscapes; including food and habitat for wildlife species, shade for parks and buildings, and natural beauty for the enjoyment of the people who inhabit these regions. The dominance of oaks and extent of oak ecosystems has declined across the area formerly dominated by this forest type in North America. Management efforts are needed to maintain oak dominance and restore ecosystem composition, structure, and function in these forests. However, in urban areas many of the management tools used in natural and working forest landscapes are unavailable due to issues related to wildland urban interface and public perception issues. This project is a large-scale, multi-site forest restoration project focused on developing management treatments to promote oak regeneration in urban natural areas. |
