Grasslands and Savannas

My research emphasis has been on the impact of invasive species on ecosystems in the SW United States relative to fire frequency and soil chemistry. My current position emphasizes instruction and curriculum development.

In my opinion, the largest challenges and potential for dendrochronology to advance paleoclimatological research on a policy-relevant level include (1) decreasing uncertainty in large-scale temperature and regional hydroclimate reconstructions, (2) developing more high-resolution climate reconstructions for the Southern Hemisphere and for tropical regions, and (3) reconstructing dynamical climate patterns and their interaction with ecosystems. I have collaborated in various projects that have focused on the first aspect, but my personal research interests have mainly focused on the latter two topics.  Some specific projects I am involved in include the development of a tree-ring network in the miombo woodland of southern Africa, fire-climate interactions in northern California, and the reconstruction of atmospheric circulation patterns over the Balkan region.
After obtaining my Masters in Bio-engineering (1999) and PhD in Applied Biological Sciences (2004) in Belgium, I worked in the Vegetation Dynamics Lab in the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University.  Afterwards, I moved back to Europe to work as a research scientist in the Dendrosciences Unit of the Swiss Federal Research Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape.  I started working in the UofA Tree-Ring Lab in January 2011.
 

Larry Howery is a professor and rangeland extension specialist in SNRE.  His appointment is 65 percent extension, 25 percent research, and 10 percent administration/service. His job responsibilities involve developing and conducting a program of extension and research to promote the sustainable management of rangeland ecosystems. His approach to extension and research has been programmatic, focused in the following three areas: 1) Noxious, Invasive Plants, 2) Animal Foraging Behavior and Distribution, and 3) Rangeland and Natural Resource Ecology and Management. Research projects are closely allied with extension programs. A programmatic approach has allowed him to design and implement the kind of programs necessary to meet the evolving needs of Arizona's citizenry as stated in the Cooperative Extension Service mission statement (i.e., "the Cooperative Extension Service is constantly changing to meet the shifting needs and priorities of the people it serves").

Jeffrey Fehmi is interested in how to increase the ecosystem services derived from grasslands and savannahs. His current research evaluates the merits of various methods for reintroducing native species into otherwise degraded or invader-dominated plant communities. He is also interested in how to effectively monitor and compare plant communities in a rigorously quantitative way.