UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA - Key Persons
Xandra joined our lab in 2018 after she received her BS from Syracuse University with majors in Geography and Biology, with a focus in Environmental Science. For her MS thesis research, Xandra studied woody plant regeneration in relation to coarse woody debris and other biophysical factors in longleaf pine woodlands after catastrophic wind disturbance. Her study added to our long-term project to quantify succession and development patterns and processes in longleaf pine woodlands of the Fall Line Hills after wind disturbance, salvage logging, and prescribed fire. Xandra also helped reconstruct forest conditions in Alabama prior to European settlement and reviewed BMPs in the South with the Forest Stewards Guild. Xandra is now in law school at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Aurora started in our lab as a Randall Research Scholar in the UA Honors College and then transitioned into our MS program. Aurora has taken advantage of our network of permanent forest monitoring plots as well as data collected for the National Ecological Observatory Network on the nearby Oakmulgee Ranger District to study patterns of catastrophic wind disturbance in the Fall Line Hills. She is now replicating her approach to quantify post-disturbance stand structure in other forests to inform ecological silviculture in pine-oak ecosystems.
Ben earned a BS in Environmental Science from UA in 2012. He then worked as an Environmental Inspector with Westinghouse Anniston and then as a guide and outfitter in Colorado prior to joining our lab as a graduate student. For his thesis, Ben compared the effects of intermediate-scale wind disturbance and intermediate silvicultural treatments in mixed oak-pine stands on the Cumberland Plateau. His results were used to inform tending and harvest treatments in mixed pine-hardwood stands. While in the lab, Ben published our findings and presented at meetings in Missouri and Mexico. He now lives in Seattle, Washington and works as an outdoor guide.
Brent Sams BS 2009 Brent explored the relationships between height and diameter for four oak species across contrasting site and growing conditions. The results provided information on the influence of growing conditions on tree architecture. Brent presented our findings at a research conference on campus and at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers. After graduating with his BS, Brent went on to earn a MS through the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech and then he accepted a position as Research Viticulturist with E and J Gallo Winery in California.
Carson joined our lab in 2016 after earning a BS in Forest Resource Management with a minor in Plant Pathology from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University. While an undergraduate student, Carson worked on two national parks and was involved in a variety of research projects. For his thesis, Carson quantified the effects prescribed fire frequency on ground-layer flora in thinned pine-hardwood systems on the Cumberland Plateau in Alabama. Carson also assisted on a project that analyzed the relationships between canopy disturbance frequency, species diversity, and structural complexity at intra-stand scales. After finishing his MS, Carson accepted a position as Lead Field Technician for the National Ecological Observatory Network and then as a forester in Colorado.
Connor is in the Randall Research Scholars Program of the UA Honors College. Connor is working to examine the relationships between neighborhood-scale species diversity and drought response of shortleaf pine in oak-pine mixedwoods. Connor is utilizing our large data collection and inventory efforts at Savage Gulf State Park in Tennessee. This work will provide important insight into the role of mixed species stands on tree-level resilience to external stress.
Craig earned a BS in Geography from the University of North Alabama before joining the lab in 2009. He brought extensive experience with geospatial technology and in our program focused his attention on ecological plant geography. For his thesis research, Craig examined the population dynamics of sugar maple throughout the southern portion of its range. He used Forest Inventory and Analysis data from the USDA Forest Service to examine regional-scale patterns. After finishing his MS, Craig accepted a position as an analyst with an environmental consulting firm in Alabama.
David worked in the lab to compare the radial growth responses of sugar maple, red maple, and tulip-poplar to small canopy openings in mature stands. This research provided information on the ecophysiology of these contrasting species, the successional trajectory of the forest, and the applicability of these species for canopy disturbance reconstructions. David presented his results on campus and at the Annual Meetings of the American Association of Geographers, the Southeastern Division of the AAG, and the Association of Southeastern Biologists. After finishing his BS, David earned a graduate degree in geography at Appalachian State University.
David joined us as a senior in the UA Environmental Science Program. For his MS thesis, David quantified spatial patterns of stand structure and canopy disturbance in longleaf pine woodlands in the Fall Line Hills. For his dissertation research, he is continuing to study intra-stand spatial patterns of structure and his research findings have important implications for tree marking guidelines. David has also led other projects in the lab including our 20 year resampling of eastern hemlock stands at the southern extent of its range and development of a georeferenced database of forest conditions in Alabama prior to widespread European settlement.
Davis joined our lab as a senior in the UA Environmental Science Program. As an undergraduate, he led research projects focused on the efficacy of restoration efforts to enhance tree resilience to drought and on localized disturbance and diversity relationships. For his MS thesis, Davis studied edge influence caused by catastrophic wind disturbance in longleaf pine woodlands. His PhD research was focused on silvicultural methods to create and maintain mixed pine-oak stands to enhance ecosystem resiliency. After earning the PhD, Davis accepted a post-doc with the Southern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service and then accepted the position as Director of Forest Programs for The Nature Conservancy in Alabama.
Jacob joined our lab in spring 2022 while in his junior year at the Capstone. Jacob worked to reconstruct forest conditions around the Conecuh National Forest in Alabama over the past 200 years. He built a georeferenced database using three different forest inventories spanning the past two centuries. This study was part of our lab's larger project to reconstruct forest conditions across the entire state since European settlement. After earning his BS, Jacob began the MS program in Biological Sciences at UA through the Freshwater Ecology and Conservation Lab.
Jacob's thesis research focused on gap-scale disturbance processes in mature oak stands on the Bankhead National Forest. Jacob published his results and presented the findings at the Annual Meetings of the Alabama Academy of Science and the American Association of Geographers in Seattle. Jacob joined our lab after receiving a BA in American Studies and Environmental Studies from UA. While here, he was heavily involved in department outreach activities. After finishing his MS, Jacob worked with the USDA Forest Service through the AmeriCorps VISTA program and then went on to become the Natural Resource Specialist on the Talladega National Forest, Oakmulgee Ranger District.
Jared Myers BS 2014 Jared worked as an undergraduate research assistant in our lab for two years. In this position, he assisted with field sampling for a variety of projects and he took a leading role with our re-inventory of eastern hemlock stands at the southern range boundary for the species in Alabama. He published a paper from that effort. In addition to these duties, Jared worked on the Talladega National Forest through his position in the lab. After finishing his degree, Jared worked as a Forest Technician with the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust and then accepted a position as Wildlife Specialist with USDA APHIS Wildlife Services.
Jonathan Kressuk BS 2019 Jon joined our lab as an Undergraduate Technician during his sophomore year in the UA Environmental Science program. As a technician, Jon helped on a wide range of projects and in 2018, Jon moved into the role of Undergraduate Research Assistant with our group. He worked to quantify species composition and age and stand structure in a multi-aged, montane longleaf pine stand in Alabama. Jon's research findings improved our understanding of longleaf pine stand development and the role of disturbance in shaping patterns of composition and structure. Jon went on to earn a MS in Forest Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and is now a PhD student in Forestry at NC State.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Professor and Director of the UA Environmental Science Program
Justin is Professor and Director of the UA Environmental Science Program. Justin's primary research interests are in forest stand dynamics. He is particularly interested in forest developmental and successional processes and patterns and forest disturbance ecology. Justin uses his research results to inform silvicultural practices to accomplish a range of management goals. He is also interested in natural areas management and frequently works in collaboration with public and private land managers. Justin serves as Associate Editor for Forest Science and Fire Ecology and on the Editorial Boards for Forest Ecology and Management and Forestry.
Keelin joined our lab in 2011 after completing her undergraduate studies at the University of New Orleans. Her graduate program was focused on natural resources management and biological conservation. For her MS thesis, Keelin performed a gap analysis of nature reserves in Alabama. She analyzed reserve size, isolation, and distribution across ecoregions to assist conservation planning in the state. As a byproduct of her research, she created the first comprehensive georeferenced database of reserve lands in Alabama. Keelin published our findings and made presentations at meetings in California and North Carolina. Since completing her MS, Keelin has worked for non-profit organizations and she lives in Chicago.
Prior to joining our lab, Kevin earned a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Sciences and a BS in Environmental Science and Technology from the University of Maryland. As an undergraduate , Kevin worked in multiple research labs, participated in a NSF funded REU project, and authored a manuscript on the effects of reduced iron and magnesium on the growth and photosynthetic performance of Phragmites australis. For his thesis, Kevin analyzed the impacts of thinning and prescribed fire on ground-layer flora in mixed pine-hardwood stands. Kevin also led two other projects and was vital to launching several others. Kevin is now working on his PhD through the Earth Systems Ecology Lab in the Department of Biology at the University of New Mexico.
Laney Brager BS 2020 Laney was in the UA Emerging Scholars program and joined our lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant in January 2017. Laney worked on a study to test the efficacy of restoration treatments (i.e. thinning and prescribed fire) to enhance resiliency to extreme climate events in longleaf pine woodlands in the Fall Line Hills. Laney also led our continued efforts to monitor the response of saprotrophic and ectomycorrhizal fungi to wind disturbance, salvage harvesting, and prescribed fire in pine woodlands. In addition to her research, Laney also worked at the UA Arboretum.
Lauren joined our lab as an undergraduate student in the Environmental Science Program in 2012. Her senior year she led a research project to document two centuries of change in forest composition and structure in the Alabama Fall Line Hills. Her thesis was focused on analyzing the spatial patterns of canopy damage and structural complexity along a disturbance severity gradient in upland oak stands. In addition to her thesis research, Lauren was actively involved in a number of other projects. While in the lab, she won numerous awards, published many papers, and presented at conferences in the US and Mexico. After finishing her MS, Lauren continued on to earn a PhD in silviculture through the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley.
Lucas joined our lab as a freshman in the Environmental Science Program. As an undergraduate, he led a project to examine woody plant regeneration patterns in upland oak stands after catastrophic wind disturbance and salvage logging. This was a follow-up to a study conducted in the lab 10 years prior. For his MS thesis, Lucas is investigating logging with draft animals in the southeastern US. In addition to building an updated database of draft animal loggers in the region, he is also quantifying the impacts of this logging method on soils, ground flora, and residual trees.
Matt worked in the lab to help analyze the climate-growth relationships and disturbance history of eastern hemlock at the southernmost limit of its range. Matt's research constituted his senior capstone project and he presented the findings at a research conference on campus and at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Boston. After graduating with his BS, Matt accepted an environmental science position with the federal government on the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.
Megan joined our lab after earning a BS in Geography from UA. Her thesis research focused on documenting canopy disturbance patterns in old-growth white oak stands throughout the eastern US. She produced multiple manuscripts from the work. While in our lab Megan won numerous grants and awards. She was funded as a Research Assistant on a project sponsored by the USDA Forest Service and in this position she was a vital contributor to a number of research projects. After graduating with her MS, Megan accepted a fellowship to pursue a PhD at the University of Minnesota where she continued her research on oak regeneration. Megan now works with the Missouri Department of Conservation. She was Research Silviculturist and is currently the Terrestrial Habitat Science Unit Supervisor.
Merrit Cowden MS 2014 Merrit worked in our lab as an undergraduate technician before enrolling in our MS program in 2012. For her thesis, she analyzed the impacts of intermediate-scale disturbance on species diversity, composition, and structure and compared the impacts of natural disturbance to silvicultural operations in hardwood stands on the Cumberland Plateau in Alabama.Notably, Merrit won the Oustanding Environmental Science Major Award as an undergraduate and the Outstanding Graduate Student Award as a MS student. After graduation, Merrit began working as an Environmental Scientist with Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. first in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and then in Dallas, Texas.
Michael Dewar BS 2011 Michael was a Biological Sciences major and a Geography minor at UA. He worked in the lab to compare the influence of climate and disturbance on the radial growth of three common hickory species in the eastern US. His project provided information on the life history and ecology of these species. Before taking on a research project in the lab, Michael spent a summer assisting us with field data collection on the Bankhead National Forest. Michael works in the plant nursery business in Seattle, Washington.
Raien was a NOAA Hollings Scholar and held an appointment with the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center in summer 2019. She joined our lab as an undergraduate technician in 2016 while a sophomore in the UA Environmental Science Program. For her thesis, she lead our efforts to quantify fuel and soil conditions following wind disturbance, salvage harvesting, and prescribed fire in longleaf pine woodlands. Raien quantified flammability characteristics for a wide range of fuels in longleaf pine ecosystems and documented changes in fuel conditions across disturbance treatments and before and after prescribed fire. In support of these efforts, Raien mentored over 25 undergraduate researchers. Raien was also an Academic All-American on the UA rowing team and she spent a lot of time on the Black Warrior River.
Rebekah joined the lab in 2009 after completing a BA in Urban Environmental Studies from Birmingham-Southern College. As an undergraduate RP spent nine weeks working on research projects at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. Her thesis research focused on the analysis of riparian and in-stream large woody debris across contrasting forest ages on the Cumberland Plateau in Alabama. In addition to publishing her work, she made presentations at meetings in Washington, Alabama, and Georgia. After completing her MS, Rebekah worked as Land Steward and then Director of Conservation for the Freshwater Land Trust. She is now Assistant Lecturer of Urban Environmental Studies at Birmingham-Southern College.
Scott earned a BS in Environmental Geosciences from the University at Buffalo in 2012. After graduating he worked for The Nature Conservancy and then for Invasive Plant Control, Inc. before joining the lab in 2015. For his thesis, Scott analyzed the macrofungal community response to a range of disturbances in longleaf pine ecosystems. Scott also led our efforts to quantify disturbance and developmental history of a multi-cohort hardwood stand in the Fall Line Hills. After earning his MS, Scott worked as a researcher at the Wayqecha Cloud Forest Biological Station in Peru and as administrator at AmaZoonico in Ecuador. He went on to earn a PhD from the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.
Stephen earned his BS in Environmental Science from UA and as an undergraduate student he worked in our lab and with the USDA Forest Service on the Talladega National Forest. His thesis was focused on the effects of intermediate-scale wind disturbance on developmental and successional pathways in upland hardwood stands on the Cumberland Plateau. While in our lab, Stephen authored two articles and presented research at four conferences. After finishing his MS, Stephen was a Biological Technician with the US Bureau of Land Management in Colorado and he was an AmeriCorps VISTA with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. He worked on the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge and is now the Timber Sale Administrator on the Bankhead National Forest, where he conducted his MS research.
Tom joined our lab in 2012 after completing a BS from Catholic University of America, earning a professional certificate in GIS, and working for several federal agencies and NGOs. His MS thesis research was focused on natural gap-scale disturbance and successional processes in mixed pine-hardwood systems on the southern Cumberland Plateau in Alabama. Tom produced an article and presented our findings at three research conferences. After earning his MS, Tom accepted a position in northern California as a Forestry Technician with the Pacific Southwest Research Station of the US Forest Service and then held a position in Alaska with the US National Park Service. He then worked in Pennsylvania as a Forester with the Northern Research Station of the Forest Service and is currently a Forester with the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Ogden, Utah.