Bullard Spotlight: Hannah Buckley and Bradley Case on Forest Spatial Patterns

Our Charles Bullard Fellowship Program draws scholars from around the globe. This year, Hannah Buckley and Bradley Case from New Zealand's Lincoln University are at the Forest working toward a better understanding of the links between forest spatial patterns and processes.

In collaboration with HF senior ecologist Aaron Ellison, they are using new methods in spatial pattern analysis to explore a global range of large, fully-censused forest plots within the ForestGEO network (including an 85-acre plot right here at the Forest). Their particular interest is in understanding what drives spatial patterns of species co-occurrence and population structure, and how environmental variation modifies these relationships.  They are also exploring how these pattern-process relationships change across the temperate-tropical gradient. 

Meticulous forest datasets and opportunities for collaboration are what brought Buckley and Case to the Forest this year. They note: "Harvard Forest has provided a great environment for exploring our research interests because we have access to high-quality forest plot datasets as well as the opportunity to establish productive collaborations with experts in the field." 

• Learn more about the Harvard ForestGEO plot.
• Read more on the Charles Bullard Fellowship program.

(Photo of our ForestGEO plot by David Foster.)