Overview
Integrated assessment of complex human-environmental systems; Land degradation and desertification in global drylands; Conceptual frameworks and models to advance the science of dryland development
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Professor Emeritus in the Division of Environmental Natural Sciences
·
2025 - Present
Environmental Natural Science,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Recent Publications
Bending the curve of land degradation to achieve global environmental goals.
Journal Article Nature · August 2025 Land has a vital role in sustaining human communities, nurturing diverse ecosystems and regulating the climate of our planet. As such, current rates of land degradation pose a major environmental and socioeconomic threat, driving climate change, biodiversi ... Full text CiteDesertification
Chapter · January 1, 2024 The phenomenon of desertification involves the loss of biological or economic productivity and biodiversity in arid and semiarid croplands, pastures, rangelands, and subhumid woodlands due mainly to nonsustainable human activities, such as overcultivation, ... Full text Open Access CiteModeling Effects of Spatial Pattern, Drought, and Grazing on Rates of Rangeland Degradation: A Combined Markov and Cellular Automaton Approach
Chapter · January 1, 2023 The hybrid Markov-cellular automaton model simulates vegetation dynamics as a spatially and temporally discrete system. Temporal dynamics are controlled by the transition probabilities among these states, whereas spatial dynamics are controlled by local ru ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
ARIDnet: A Research Network for Testing New Paradigms for Global Desertification
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2003 - 2010Collaborative Research: Responses of Productivity and Nutrient Dynamics to Elevated CO2 in an Intact Mojave Desert Ecosystem
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2002 - 2006Phytotron Operations: 2000 - 2004
ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 1995 - 2004View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
New Mexico State University ·
1974
Ph.D.