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Research Interests
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My research interests are largely driven by
my serious concern for our natural environment;
my passion for
understanding earth systems dynamics;
my enthusiasm for integrating concepts and
techniques from various disciplines (e.g., geography, ecology, soil
science, geomorphology, computer sciences); my sincere devotion to
teaching; and three simple, yet crucial realizations: (1) today's
environmental problems are the result of complex spatio-temporal
interactions between environmental and anthropogenic driving forces;
(2) finding sustainable solutions to these problems necessitates
large-scale, long-term, multi-disciplinary approaches that integrate
remotely sensed and in situ data and techniques within a
spatial organizing framework; and (3) success at realizing these
solutions demands support from the global community, which, in turn,
requires the fostering and promotion of geographic awareness and
understanding among students and stakeholders and the building of
partnerships with all sectors of society.
Quite obviously, my research interests are
thus far-ranging and
diverse, and I always welcome invitations to collaborative
efforts—after all, these often create new ideas and open new
directions for research. However, I am particularly interested
in research that aims at assessing, monitoring, modeling, and
predicting land use and land cover changes in drylands and contribute
to this research through applied work in the areas of remote sensing,
GIS, spatial modeling, vegetation and landscape ecology, and soil
science. My current research emphasis is best represented by
my
dissertation, in which I developed,
implemented, and tested an integrative remote sensing, GIS, and
spatial modeling approach for quantifying the spatio-temporal,
regional-scale dynamics of woody plant encroachment. In the
near future,
I plan on extending this work and also explore other intriguing areas
of inquiry. Specifically, I am interested in using geospatial
data and techniques for improving our knowledge and
understanding
of the following general topics:
desertification; agro-ecological risk; plant-soil-moisture
relationships;
resistance, resilience, and
stability of grasslands and savannas; ecosystem responses to
disturbances;
scale-dependence of environmental phenomena;
and land resource management. |
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Dissertation
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Quantifying the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics
of Woody Plant Encroachment Using an Integrative Remote Sensing, GIS,
and Spatial Modeling Approach |
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Author: Buenemann, Michaela
School: University of Oklahoma,
Norman
Advisor: Spaeth, Hans-Joachim
Degree Date: 2007
Key words: Remote sensing; GIS;
Spatial modeling; Land
cover change; Woody plant encroachment; Drylands
Subjects: Geography; Remote Sensing;
Environmental
Sciences; Biology, Ecology; Agriculture, Range
Management |
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Abstract: Despite a longstanding universal concern
about and intensive research into woody plant encroachment (WPE)—the
replacement of grasslands by shrub- and woodlands—our accumulated
understanding of the process has either not been translated into
sustainable rangeland management strategies or with only limited
success. In order to increase our scientific insights into WPE and
move us one step closer toward the sustainable management of
rangelands affected by or vulnerable to the process, the major
objectives of the research presented in this dissertation were to
present an unprecedented critical, qualitative and quantitative
assessment of the existing WPE literature and to propose, implement
and test an integrative remote sensing, GIS, and spatial modeling
approach for quantifying the spatio-temporal dynamics of WPE. Findings from this dissertation suggest that
the proposed methodological framework has enormous potential for
addressing questions relevant to both rangelands research and
management. Specifically, this research demonstrates that the
application of cutting-edge remote sensing techniques (Multiple
Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis, fuzzy logic-based change
detection) to conventional medium spatial and spectral resolution
imagery (Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+, ASTER) can be used to generate
spatially explicit estimates of temporal changes in the abundance of
woody plants and other surface materials. Furthermore, it shows that
spatial models (Geographically Weighted Regression, Weights of
Evidence, Weighted Logistic Regression) integrating this timely
remotely sensed information with readily available GIS data can yield
reasonably accurate estimates of an area’s relative vulnerability to
WPE and of the importance of anthropogenic and geoecological variables
influencing the process. However, this dissertation also illustrates
that much work remains to be done before we can translate our
understanding of WPE into sustainable rangeland management
strategies. In particular, we need to more fully explore the
limitations and potentials of currently available data and techniques
for quantifying WPE; build structures for data sharing and
integration; develop a set of relevant standards; more actively engage
in collaborative research efforts; and foster cross-cutting dialogues
among researchers, managers, and communities.
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Current Projects
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I am currently preparing five dissertation-related manuscripts for
publication. These are:
1.
Buenemann, M. and T. Rashed. Coupling Multiple Endmember Spectral
Mixture Analyis and Fuzzy Logic for the Assessment of Woody Plant
Encroachment. In progress. To be submitted to Remote Sensing of
Environment.
2.
Buenemann, M. Predicting Landscape Vulnerability to Woody Plant
Encroachment: A Review, Comparison, and Evaluation of Three Spatial
Models. In progress. To be submitted to Transactions in GIS.
3.
Buenemann, M. Modeling the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Woody Plant
Encroachment: An Integrative Remote Sensing, GIS, and Spatial Modeling
Approach. In progress. To be submitted to the Annals of the
Association of American Geographers or Applied Geography.
4.
Buenemann, M. Why We Don’t Know More About Woody Plant Encroachment: A
Lack of Reporting Standards and Interdisciplinary Collaboration. In
progress. To be submitted to Frontiers in Ecology and Environment.
5.
Buenemann, M. Woody Plant Encroachment: An Annotated Bibliography. In
progress. To be submitted to Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment.
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Future Projects
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1. Land Use and Land Resource Change in Former Bushmanland: Causes and Consequences of Disparate Developments in
Namibia and Botswana.
2. Sustainable Development in the Northwestern
Central Highlands of Nicaragua? Renewable Energy Programs vs. Indigenous
Land Use Systems.
3. Ecosystem Responses to the Reintroduction
of Gray Wolves in Yellowstone National Park
4. Agro-Ecological Risk Assessment of
Indigenous Farming Systems in the Sahel.
5. Desertification and Woody Plant
Encroachment: A Comparison of Geoecological and Anthropogenic
Cause-and-Effect Relationships.
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Last updated: May 15, 2007
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