The forests and shrublands of southern California provide an excellent laboratory for numerous studies addressing questions concerning anthropogenic effects on the flora and fauna at a variety of scales. Faculty and student researchers combine field observations with remote sensing and computer modeling.

• Fire regimes and the effects of fire suppression on the size and distribution of wildfires
• Computer models of long-term dynamics of fire-modulated patch mosaics
• Alien plant invasion of California shrublands and desert scrub communities
• Habitat fragmentation and connectivity
• Vegetation ordination and wildlife-habitat relationships with GIS

Faculty Involved: Minnich, Sadler, Scott