The Spring 2024 Biology Seminar Series continues with a talk from Dr. Alana Rader, "Regenerating Landscapes in the Era of Global Environmental Transformation – A Case from Southeastern Mexico."
In our age of increasing and compounding drivers of environmental change, understanding not just how Earth’s landscapes are impacted in the immediate aftermath, but also how they regenerate over a longer time scale after specific events is of critical importance. In the Southeastern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, forest regeneration following hurricanes has supported both continent wide conservation corridors, but also local communities who depend on forests for resources and food for millenia. This talk will describe the many patterns of forest regeneration following diverse drivers of environmental change, such as hurricanes, in southeastern Mexico. These patterns of forest regeneration are then discussed in the context of environmental management in Mexico to show that the level of consideration given to forest regeneration in environmental management plans has critical implications for their success in terms of conservation and long-term forest sustainability.
