Research Interests

Drivers of persistence or decline of plant populations; especially the interactive effects of wild plant harvest, fire, grazing, invasive species and climate change on plant population dynamics.

Local and indigenous resource management systems, especially non-timber forest product harvest and traditional agroforestry systems Population ecology and conservation of Native Hawaiian dry and mesic forest plants Population dynamics of epiphytic bromeliads and orchids Drivers of resilience in social-ecological systems, including island land-sea linkages Biocultural approaches to conservation and restoration

Research Statement

I am broadly interested in understanding the ways in which local use and management of tropical forests can be compatible with biological and biocultural conservation and restoration. Ninety percent of the world’s tropical forests lie outside of formally protected areas and most are used and valued by the people who live in and around them. My students and I employ a combination of ecological monitoring and field experiments, demographic modeling, and interviews with local resource users. Our focus in on biocultural and participatory approaches.