I am excited to have the opportunity of a finishing fellowship to complete my research. I am interested in using site-level ecohydrology research to estimate watershed-scale impacts with the goal of providing results that can guide land managers and policymakers. My current research is a combination of modeling future conditions and mapping wetland distribution. These projects build on the 10 years I have spent studying the impact of emerald ash borer on black ash wetlands. Using a combination of optical imagery and synthetic aperture radar, I am working to quantify the distribution of these relatively unmapped wetlands. Mapping these wetlands is the first step to mitigating the effects of EAB, which will require long-term management strategies. To guide climate-adapted management tactics, I am also modeling the combined impacts of EAB and climate change. Using wetland models, I simulate how mitigated and impacted wetlands will respond to changing temperature and precipitation patterns.
Specifically, how will wetland inundation patterns change, and what impacts will those changes have on other ecosystem components. With the knowledge of where these wetlands are located and how they will change in the future, better decisions can be made to retain their benefits.
Joe Shannon
Research Scientist & PhD Candidate
School of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences Michigan Technological University