Research
Interacting Global Change Drivers in Temperate Forests
Understanding how interacting global change drivers affect our forests is incredibly important, but also very challenging. The long term effects of land use/land cover changes, climate change, forest insects and pathogens, and other forms of disturbance not only impact biodiversity, but also resource provisioning and our ability to mitigate climate change. Therefore, our research in coupled human-natural systems seeks to understand how global change drivers will impact the future of our forest ecosystems, as well as how to support a diverse group of environmental decision-makers in stewarding our forests through education and outreach.
Below are a some of the projects we have been working on.
Carbon consequences of future land use
Globally, forests play an important role in climate change mitigation. However, land-use impacts the ability of forests to sequester and store carbon. In a recent study we quantified the impacts of five divergent future land-use scenarios on aboveground forest carbon stocks and fluxes throughout New England. These scenarios, four co-designed with stakeholders from throughout the region and the fifth a continuation of recent trends in land use, are from the New England Landscape Futures project. We then simulated the carbon impacts of the land use scenarios by coupling a land cover change model with a mechanistic forest growth model to produce estimates of aboveground carbon over 50 years. Future carbon removed through harvesting and development was tracked using a standard carbon accounting methodology, modified to fit our modeling framework.
Additionally, we used a similar framework to better understand the capacity of Massachusetts forests to sequester carbon into the future for the Land Sector of the 2050 MA Decarbonization Roadmap Study. We are currently working on updating our methods for carbon accounting for future studies - stay tuned!
Carbon emissions and storage of removed aboveground carbon (trees) by New England Landscape Future scenario
Researching European gypsy moth defoliation in the Quabbin Watershed, MA
Interaction of forest management and invasive species
Some of our most current research looks at how New England forests are impacted both directly by climate change and invasive species, as well as how indirect impacts, such as family forest owner management decisions, interact and ultimately shape our future landscape. We recently published a few works on how the invasive insect, the emerald ash borer (EAB) may motivate additional harvesting in New England, and are in the process of modeling the impacts of those harvests on our forest ecosystems.
Additionally, we are beginning to model and better quantify how a combination of hemlock decline from hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) and additional hemlock markets from cross-laminated timber may both impact our ecosystems and carbon storage and sequestration potential in New England. The work is currently in process - with the modeling of invasive insects underway. Feel free to contact us about the work!
Much of our invasive work also helps inform the work of the RISCC Network!
Diversifying participation and representation in the sciences
Current and historical records of land use and land management in New England too often exclude the voices and knowledge of Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color. This summer I (Meg) am co-mentoring a REU project at the Harvard Forest looking at current and historical records of land use in New England, and identifying how we can diversify perspectives and voices in the forestry and land use paradigm. The goals of our project are two fold: 1) we will use meta-analysis methods to quantitatively explore studies that have successfully included both Western science and traditional ecological knowledge, with the goal of working with Indigenous communities in Massachusetts to identify areas where this integration could be most helpful in our region; and 2) identify forestry literature from scholars of color, and amplify these resources to increase representation and diversification of people and ideas in the discourse about forestry.
Golf course turned grazing area at the Harvard Forest
View from the Wayquecha Biological Station in Peru, one of the original stops for the SFS Peru Program
Inclusive eSTEM pedagogy
Throughout my (Meg's) career I have researched Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), and primarily environmental STEM (eSTEM), pedagogy in both formal and informal settings. I have taught students from kindergarten all the way to graduate school and in nature centers, study abroad programs, and college and universities. I recently became an ESA Education Scholar through participation in an Inclusive Pedagogy Faculty Mentoring Network. Some of my previous work with faculty at Babson College researched and then formalized best practices for teaching science and scientific thinking to business students. We collectively expounded the importance of scientific literacy for all students and found that hands-on exploration of concepts and theories translated well and improved literacy in our students.
As an administrator at The School for Field Studies (SFS), I improved the delivery of our curriculum as well as helped to (re)define the SFS model; including the commitment to experiential, place-based learning and the training of students in critical and scientific thinking. As part of my role, I assessed each program and suggested new pedagogical techniques that fit within the SFS model. At SFS, we aimed for at least half of our instruction to take place in the field, which can be both an incredible and challenging learning environment. However, through creative programming and very talented faculty, students leave the program with substantial theoretical and practical experience in ecology, natural resource management, and environmental policy/ethics. I stayed up to date on the latest techniques for place-based applied environmental education so that the faculty had the best resources available.
I am deeply committed to improving environmental education for all and will continue to research best practices and try to meet the needs of educators and students from underrepresented groups in the sciences.
Our research is inherently interdisciplinary, utilizing knowledge in areas from ecology, forestry, and physical geography to surveying and computer science. We continue to be interested in new ways of applying our skills to innovative projects.
Please feel free to contact me at mgmaclean@umass.edu with any ideas/questions!