Graduate Research Assistant Mississippi State University Starkville, Mississippi, United States
1. Oak restoration is crucial for biodiversity and ecosystem services in LMAV. 2. Data-driven modeling captures complex species-environment interactions. 3. Ensemble modeling improves prediction accuracy and reliability. 4. Climate change impacts on future oak distributions were assessed. 5. The models serve as decision-support tools for sustainable forest management and restoration.
Learning Objectives:
Understanding the factors influencing oak regeneration success in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV):
Participants will gain knowledge of the key environmental variables, such as climate, soil characteristics, hydrology, and land cover, that affect oak regeneration in the LMAV.
They will learn how these factors interact and contribute to the success or failure of oak regeneration efforts in bottomland hardwood forests.
Proficiency in developing and applying habitat suitability models for conservation and management:
Participants will acquire skills in collecting and preprocessing species occurrence data and environmental predictor variables.
They will learn how to employ ensemble modeling approaches to develop accurate and reliable habitat suitability models for multiple oak species.
Participants will gain experience in model training, validation, and assessment, as well as interpreting model outputs for decision-making purposes.
Ability to integrate model results into sustainable forest management and restoration strategies:
Participants will learn how to utilize the developed habitat suitability models to evaluate potential future distributions of oak species under changing climate conditions.
They will gain insights into assessing the impact of oak regeneration on landscape dynamics and quantifying the ecosystem services provided by restored and sustainably managed oak populations.
Participants will develop the skills to translate model outputs into actionable strategies for sustainable management and restoration of bottomland hardwood forests in the LMAV, considering potential trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services.
