Steve Woods
Why has mesquite (Prosopis velutina) spread so much into desert grasslands over the last 150 years? Why not other tree and shrub species of the Sonoran Desert? To answer this, I'm comparing seedling establishment of native woody plant species. Water is the key resource in arid and semi-arid lands so my key treatments vary its availability, for instance by imposing drought. Likewise, my key measurements concern water access, transport and use: taproot elongation rates, critical for ensuring access to deeper soil moisture during dry periods; hydraulic conductivity, the ability to get water from the roots to where it is needed, in the leaves; and physiological responses, such as water use efficiency and photosynthetic capacity. This is mostly greenhouse work but with a field component.
I'm also interested in ethnoecology. Not all knowledge originates with scientists: people who work the land for many years typically know something about its ecology. So I plan on applying qualititative social science techniques to get at some of that knowledge.
After graduating, I intend to use natural and scocial science methods to understand ecology and land management locally in developing countries; and thereby to help improve sustainability of resource use and of livelihoods
