Download Forest Landscape Ecology Specialist

Cooperative Extension Forest Landscape Ecology Specialist
UC Berkeley Campus – College of Natural Resources
Landscape Ecology Specialist: This position is expected to provide statewide leadership in landscape ecology
with a focus on spatial processes impacting large forest ecosystems in California.
Position:
(1) Disciplinary focus – The position will work in the area of forest landscape ecology; (2) Educational and
professional background – A Ph.D. in landscape ecology, ecosystem sciences, forestry, natural resource
management, or related program is required. Evidence of leadership, teambuilding, organizational skills, and
academic promise is essential. (3) Supporting Units – The position will be housed in the Department of
Environmental Science, Policy and Management (ESPM) at UC Berkeley. The Specialist will be a key member of
UCB’s Center for Forestry, the Center for Fire Research and Outreach, and the Geospatial Innovation Facility.
Justification:
There are over 120,000 km2 of forest in California that account for 30% of the land area in the state. These vast
landscapes are complex and dynamic. Landscape ecology is the study of the interactions between landscape
patterns and ecological processes over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Processes such as disturbance
and succession play a central role in structuring ecological systems by producing a spatiotemporal mosaic of
vegetation patches in different successional states. This shifting mosaic of vegetation patches has important
implications for landscape function, including the ability to support viable populations of plant and animal
species, to sustain ecosystem services (e.g., water storage, carbon sequestration) and to provide forest products.
Natural and anthropogenic disturbances, from wildfires to global warming, will play out over characteristic
spatiotemporal contexts. From the chronic stress of a changing atmosphere to the catastrophic impact of megadisturbances to the lingering legacy of land-use history, a host of novel circumstances have the potential to disrupt
existing landscape processes with potentially harmful effects on the health and resiliency of California’s forest.
These impending environmental changes will occur against a backdrop of increasing development demand as
California’s population grows. Understanding the landscape-level consequences of global change and translating
this knowledge into effective practice are vital goals for UCCE.
Extension: The Landscape Ecology Specialist is expected to work closely with professional resource managers,
federal and state policy makers, NGO’s, forest landowners, and other stakeholders. Extension activities with these
groups include development of workshops, symposia, field days, webinars, and technical publications. It is also
expected that there will be creative use of social media to extend information to the public.
Research: Potential research questions to be pursued by the Specialist include:
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How does the diversity of past land-use, as well as the present, inform our understanding of the future
trajectory of the forest landscape?
How might a coupled human-natural systems framework improve our ability to predict future patterns and
processes in California’s forests?
What is the best way to simultaneously explore the landscape-level impacts of future fire regimes and
pest/pathogen spread on California’s forest?
What is the potential impact of forest fragmentation and degradation on wildlife habitats, carbon storage,
and water supply?
How do we measure and model landscape resilience under different disturbance scenarios?
How can management strategies effect change across the forested landscape?
The Specialist is expected to develop an externally funded research program in applied landscape ecology that
includes the development and/or application of environmental sensor technology, ecosystem models, and high
performance analytics. The Specialist would be expected to publish original findings in the appropriate peerreviewed journals. Other important outlets include proceedings of various conferences, professional or landowner
publications (such as ANR leaflets and manuals), and trade or organizational journals.
ANR Network: There is a rich network of Berkeley academics working in forested landscapes. The list includes
14 AES professors: Baldochhi, Battles, Beissinger, Biging, Bruns, Dawson, Dodd, Gilless, Huntsinger, O'Hara,
Potts, Silver, Stephens, and Wang; and 10 CE specialists: Axelson, Butsic, Garbelotto, Kelly, Merenlender,
Moritz, Scott, Standiford, Stewart, and Tietje. There are six UCCE Advisors working predominantly in forested
counties (Giusti, Valachovic, DeLasaux, DeSantis, and Kocher) while another (Lacan) focuses on trees in the
urban landscape. Other AES and CE faculty working on forest-related issues are at UC Riverside (Paine, Hoddle)
and UC Davis (Neale, Rizzo, Schwartz, Gornish, DiTomasso). In addition, ANR faculty, specialists and advisors
working on rangelands, oak woodlands, watersheds, and environmental education, would be collaborators for this
position. The breadth and depth of the expertise in landscape and forest ecology is one of the strengths of UC
Berkeley and ANR, but at present we have only one academic (Wang) exclusively focused on landscape ecology.
Given the need to revitalize and rethink how we sustain forests in the era of global change, we must complement
our depth in the terrestrial ecology, forest management, rural sociology, and environmental economics with
comparable expertise in the spatial and temporal dimensions of forest landscapes. Landscape ecology is a key gap
in the research-extension continuum. This academic will strengthen the ANR Statewide Program in Informatics
and GIS (IGIS) which serves to develop and deliver spatial research technology to the ANR network as well as
contribute to the ANR Strategic Vision and related programs including the Sustainable Natural Ecosystems
Initiative and the Program Team in Forests and Range.
Network External to ANR: The California Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CA-LCC) is a network of
federal scientists and managers from the US Forest Service (USFS), the National Park Service (NPS), and the
United States Geological Service (USGS) who explore questions associated with the spatial patterns and
processes specific to forests. This LCC provides an excellent research and extension venue for the Landscape
Ecology Specialist. Also the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) and large industrial
landowners maintain a diverse array of technical and professional expertise tasked with regulating and managing
expansive areas of forest. The Specialist would be expected to collaborate with these external groups.
Support: The Landscape Ecology Specialist would have an office and laboratory space on the Berkeley Campus.
A startup package would be used to allow the purchase of field and lab equipment, computing resources, and
research supplies. Travel and S&E would be provided, consistent with levels provided to other CE Specialists.
Other support: The Landscape Ecology Specialist will be expected to develop a competitive research program
funded by extramural grants and contracts. Potential federal sources include the NSF, NASA, EPA, and National
Institute for Food and Agriculture. Within California, it is anticipated that the Specialist would compete for
climate change and forest health related grants funded by the Greenhouse Gas program, timber tax, and fire
mitigation funds. The various ANR competitive grants through the Core Issues Program, and the Renewable
Resources Extension Act are other sources of funding.
Location: The position will be housed on the Berkeley Campus in the Department of Environmental Science,
Policy and Management. ESPM supports a leading university program in terrestrial ecology and management
with strong links to allied programs across campus (e.g., Integrative Biology, Geography) and with the
environmental science division of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
Developed and proposed by: The UC Berkeley Department of Environmental Science Policy and Management
developed this position in consultation with members of the ANR Program Team in Forest and Rangeland
Systems and the Sustainable Natural Ecosystems initiative. Input to the position was provided by colleagues in the
USFS PSW, the USFS Region 5, the NPS, the USGS, and CalFire.