Forests have captured the imagination of people for centuries and have shaped the trajectory of human civilization. Even in our modern era, forests are more relevant than ever. They lie at the heart of contemporary approaches to tackling both the biodiversity and climate crisis. 

 We study the biogeography of forests with a focus on:

1) Regeneration dynamics in forests -  How does climatic variation influence regeneration dynamics? Can we support decision making to improve reforestation efforts?

2) What kills tree seedlings?  Seedlings are uniquely sensitive to drought and lethal surface temperatures. Can we simulate  plant hydraulics to understand and forecast seedling mortality?

3) Fire and disturbance - Fire is the great catalyst of change in semi-arid forests and it lies at the nexus of contemporary resource management challenges related to carbon, climate, and society. How will the fire regimes of the present day evolve into those of the future and how will these changes affect forests?

4) Protected areas - How resilient is the protected area network to global change? How can we design a network that is resilient to human and climatic stressors?