Master's Defense: Ben Gannon
Friday, November 11, 2011, 01:00 PM
Shepardson, Room 212

Hurricane Disturbance and Vegetation change in the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic 

Ben Gannon master’s defense will take place Friday, Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. in 212 Shepardson.  

Abstract: Hurricanes are intense, frequent disturbances in the Caribbean basin, often regarded as important agents structuring ecological patterns and processes. The unique topography and vegetation of tropical montane forests interact with the forces of hurricanes to create complex patterns of disturbance. In this study we used remote sensing and field inventory of forests to reconstruct wind and rain disturbance from Hurricane Georges in the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic. We used geographic information systems to analyze the spatial patterns of hurricane disturbance and the relationship of disturbance with the topography, the physical forces of the hurricane, and the biota of the landscape. We address the effects of hurricanes on forests by comparing structure and composition across forest types and levels of hurricane severity.

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Event Contact: Bonnie Schilling can be reached at (970) 491-7019

Sponsored by the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture.